Everyone loves to win and when playing the lottery, that’s the name of the game. But, you could be playing the wrong game.
Buying a single lottery ticket isn’t necessarily the best bet. Scratch-off games could give players a greater chance of winning big.
The top prize for most scratch-off games is around $3 million. That’s nowhere near the average $40 million Powerball prize, but the odds are actually in the player's favor when playing scratch-offs.
According to Kelly Tabor of the Colorado Lottery, the way to a bigger pay out — or at least winning money back — is buying the $10, $20, or $50 tickets. Those tickets cost more, but they have a greater purchasing power in a smaller pool of participants.
Plus, there’s still another chance to win big even with a loss
"You can take your non-winning scratch tickets and enter them for second chance,” Tabor says
Players can even use the lottery’s website to educate themselves on how to pick the right game for them to win top prizes.
"You can view all of our scratch games and see if they have a second chance drawing, how many top prizes they have left, what the top prize is,” Tabor said.
Tabor also says it's best for players to spend all the money they're willing to bet, all at once. That will increase the chances of getting more winning tickets.
