Do Crossword Scratch-Offs Pay Better?
Larry Nguyen
Founder of Scratch IQ
Written
Quick answer
No. Compared at the same ticket price, crossword, cashword and bingo games return about the same per dollar as any other scratch-off. They look worse overall only because they are usually sold at cheaper price points, and cheaper tickets always return less.
Line up every scratch-off by game type and crossword tickets look like a bad deal. Bingo looks worse. Neither is true, and the reason has nothing to do with the puzzle. It is hiding in the price.
What the raw numbers seem to say
As of September 13, 2026, Scratch IQ tracks 215 crossword and cashword games and 75 bingo games across 41 states plus Washington, D.C. Line them up against everything else and the middle game looks like this:
- Crossword and cashword games: about 68 cents per dollar
- Bingo games: about 66 cents per dollar
- Everything else: about 69 cents per dollar
Bingo comes out three cents behind. You could write a confident headline off that. It would be wrong.
The trap
Cheaper scratch-offs pay back a smaller share of the ticket price. That is true of every game at every price, and we walk through it in the price comparison. A $1 ticket returns about 58 cents on the dollar; a $30 ticket returns about 78 cents.
Now look at what these games cost. The average bingo game that Scratch IQ tracks sells for $4.42. The average non-crossword, non-bingo game sells for $10.48. Bingo games are clustered down at the cheap end of the rack, where every game pays back less.
Which means the earlier comparison was never about bingo at all. It lined up a pile of $2 and $3 tickets against a pile of $10 and $20 tickets, and then blamed the difference on the game printed on the front.
Comparing like with like
Hold the price steady and the gap disappears. Same price point, same state pool, middle game in each group:
| Price | Crossword | Bingo | Everything else |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2 | 62.6 cents | 62.0 cents | 62.5 cents |
| $5 | 67.9 cents | 69.1 cents | 67.9 cents |
| $10 | 72.5 cents | n/a | 72.1 cents |
| $20 | 73.8 cents | n/a | 74.6 cents |
| $30 | 79.1 cents | n/a | 77.5 cents |
At $2 the three groups land within about half a cent of each other. At $5, bingo is slightly ahead. At $30, crossword is slightly ahead. The differences bounce around in both directions and are small enough to be noise. There are too few bingo games above $5 to compare at all, which is marked “n/a.”
Why the theme does not change the math
A scratch-off’s payout is set before it prints. The designers decide how many prizes go in at each level, and that plan gets filed with the state lottery. The puzzle on the front is the part you interact with. It does not change how much money was put into the prize pool.
Crossword games do take longer to play, and some people like that. Getting more minutes out of a ticket is a fine reason to pick one. Just do not expect the puzzle to pay for itself.
The bottom line
Crossword, cashword and bingo scratch-offs return about the same as any other game at the same price. The apparent gap comes from price mix: these games cluster at cheaper price points, and cheaper tickets always return a smaller share.
Ticket price and how many prizes are still unclaimed are what actually move the number. Both are public, and Scratch IQ recomputes them daily from each state lottery’s own data. See how on the methodology page, or look up the games on sale in your state from the state list.
Related questions
- Do crossword scratch-offs have better odds?
- No. Compared at the same ticket price, crossword and cashword games return about the same per dollar as other games. At $5 they return about 67.9 cents versus 67.9 cents for other games, and at $10 about 72.5 cents versus 72.1 cents.
- Are bingo scratch-offs a bad deal?
- Not because they are bingo games. Bingo scratch-offs return about 66 cents per dollar overall, below the roughly 69 cent average, but that is because they average $4.42 in price and cheaper tickets always return less. At matching prices they are competitive.
- Does the type of scratch-off game change the payout?
- The theme on the front does not change the payout. A game's prize structure is designed and filed before printing. Ticket price and how many prizes remain unclaimed are what actually move the expected return.
- How many crossword scratch-off games are there?
- Scratch IQ tracks 215 active crossword and cashword games and 75 active bingo games across 41 states plus Washington, D.C., out of about 2,692 active games in total.
Scratch IQ is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any state lottery commission. This article is informational only — not gambling, financial, or investment advice. Every scratch-off ticket is random; past rankings do not predict individual outcomes.
You must be 18 or older (or your state’s minimum lottery age, whichever is higher) to play. Play responsibly.