Every year, Americans throw away billions of losing lottery tickets that were still worth something. Most state lotteries run second-chance drawings: enter a non-winning ticket's number on the lottery's website or app, and it becomes an entry in periodic drawings for cash, cars, trips, gift cards — sometimes six- and seven-figure prizes. Because a large share of players never enter, the effective odds are often far better than the printed game odds. Here's how the programs work and how to stop leaving this value in the trash.
How second-chance drawings work
The mechanics are nearly identical everywhere:
- Create a free account with your state lottery (website or official app — never a third-party site).
- Enter losing tickets by scanning the barcode with the app or typing the ticket/entry number. Both scratch-offs and draw-game tickets qualify, depending on the promotion.
- Wait for the drawing — weekly, monthly, or quarterly depending on the program. Winners are usually notified by email or account message, which is worth knowing because that's also what scammers imitate: a real lottery never asks for a fee to release a second-chance prize.
Entries cost nothing beyond the ticket you already bought, which is why second-chance programs are the closest thing to free expected value in the lottery — a point our honest guide to lottery strategy ranks above every number-picking system ever sold.
What the big state programs look like
Programs change with each promotion cycle, but the shape by state is stable:
- California — the model program: eligible Scratchers and SuperLotto Plus tickets earn entries into weekly $25,000 drawings, and SuperLotto Plus tickets marked with "2nd Chance" codes feed a separate weekly draw. Entry via the CA Lottery app.
- Florida — "Bonus Play" promotions rotate through the year, turning designated scratch-off games into entries for cash and experience prizes.
- New York — Collect 'N Win and rotating second-chance promotions for both draw and instant games, entered through the NY Lottery app.
- Texas — Luck Zone second-chance promotions tied to specific scratch ticket games, with drawings for cash, vehicles, and event packages.
- Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and most others — points-based players' clubs where every entered ticket earns entries or loyalty points spendable on drawing entries and rewards.
If your state runs a lottery, assume it has a second-chance or players' club program — it's on the official site under names like "Second Chance," "Bonus Play," "Players Club," or "VIP Club." Find your state's games and official links from our state-by-state results pages.
Why the odds are quietly good
A second-chance drawing's odds are entries received ÷ prizes given — not a fixed printed number. Since many players never register and most never enter every ticket, habitual enterers hold a structural advantage: the same prize pool divided among far fewer entries than tickets sold. During slow promotion windows, regional prize drawings have been won with remarkably small entry pools. You can't compute the exact odds in advance, but you can be on the right side of them by simply entering everything.
The habits that capture the value
- Scan every ticket before tossing it — first to confirm it actually lost (misread tickets are a real category of forfeited prizes), then to bank the second-chance entry. The official app does both in one scan.
- Enter promptly. Promotions have entry deadlines tied to game end dates; a shoebox of expired tickets is worth nothing.
- Keep the physical ticket until the drawing — some states require the winning entry's ticket for verification.
- Watch your email and spam folder after entering. Real notifications come from the lottery's domain and never demand payment, a "processing fee," or gift cards — that's the scam signature.
- Taxes still apply: second-chance prizes are lottery winnings like any other — $600+ is reported, and big prizes follow the standard federal and state rules.
Bottom line
A losing ticket isn't finished until it's been scanned twice — once to verify, once to enter. Second-chance drawings recycle billions of discarded tickets into real prizes for the minority of players who bother, at effective odds better than anything printed on a ticket. Register with your state's official app, enter everything, and let the rest of the trash can subsidize you. Then check tonight's actual numbers on our results homepage.
Program details and promotions vary by state and change frequently — verify on your official state lottery website. Play responsibly — 1-800-GAMBLER.