How It Works
How ScratchRank uses official lottery data and clearly labeled estimates.
What ScratchRank uses
ScratchRank collects publicly available Maine Lottery data, including current scratch-ticket listings, unclaimed-prize information, game detail pages, game end dates, and other official metadata.
Official values are stored separately from values ScratchRank calculates or estimates.
Official data vs estimated data
Estimated tickets remaining
When Maine publishes both the original number of tickets printed and the percentage of tickets still unsold, ScratchRank estimates remaining inventory using:
=
Tickets Printed × Percent Unsold
Example:
× 0.9% unsold
= 8,640 estimated tickets remaining
Estimated current top-prize odds
ScratchRank then estimates the current number of remaining tickets for each remaining top prize:
=
Estimated Tickets Remaining ÷ Top Prizes Remaining
Example:
÷ 2 top prizes remaining
= estimated 1 in 4,320
How rankings work
ScratchRank currently ranks games by estimated current top-prize odds.
A lower estimated number is ranked higher. For example, an estimated 1 in 10,000 ranks ahead of an estimated 1 in 100,000.
A game is only ranked when enough official data exists to calculate the estimate. ScratchRank displays a dash instead of inventing a value when required data is missing.
Low inventory
A game can have very favorable estimated current odds because very few tickets are estimated to remain while one or more top prizes are still officially unclaimed.
That does not mean those tickets are easy to find.
ScratchRank does not currently know the exact retailer location of remaining tickets. Low estimated inventory may mean tickets are scattered among stores, sitting in partially sold packs, or otherwise difficult to locate.
Historical snapshots
ScratchRank saves daily snapshots instead of only showing the current state of a game.
Over time, this creates a historical dataset showing changes in percent unsold, top prizes remaining, estimated inventory, estimated current odds, and other game metrics.
Important limitations
Estimated ticket inventory may differ from actual physical retailer inventory.
Published lottery data may be delayed, incomplete, corrected, or removed by the source.
ScratchRank does not assume missing information. If the Maine Lottery does not publish a value, ScratchRank may show it as unavailable.
Rankings are analytical estimates, not guarantees of winning.