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Lottery Jackpot Expected Value Calculator

EV of a single ticket given odds, jackpot, and price.

Compute the expected value (and the EV-to-cost ratio) of a single lottery ticket given the jackpot, the per-ticket cost, the odds (one in N), and an optional after-tax + lump-sum haircut.

Marcus Laurent By Marcus Laurent
Published Last reviewed 1 min read

Inputs

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Results

Enter values and click Calculate to see results.
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How to use this calculator

  1. Fill in the inputs above using the units you already have.
  2. Values update automatically as you type — no submit button needed.
  3. Hover any result row for the underlying formula and intermediate values.

Formula

EV = jackpot · payout_pct · tax_factor / odds_one_in − ticket_cost.

In depth

Compute the expected value (and the EV-to-cost ratio) of a single lottery ticket given the jackpot, the per-ticket cost, the odds (one in N), and an optional after-tax + lump-sum haircut.