COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio and West Virginia are among the states most affected by lottery and sweepstakes scams, according to a recent study.
Vegas Insider, a sports betting information website, compiled lottery and sweepstakes fraud data from the Federal Trade Commission spanning from January 2020 through June 2025. To determine the worst states for the scams, the platform analyzed the total money lost and the number of scam reports per one million residents in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Ohio ranked as the fourth-most impacted state by lottery and sweepstakes, registering $34.6 million in losses and 2,152 reports per one million residents over the five-year period. West Virginia came in at fifth, registering 3,367 reports per one million residents; however, the amount lost was much smaller than Ohio at just over $9.17 million
“The state’s active sweepstakes scene gives scammers easy cover to pose as ‘second-chance drawings,’ charging bogus processing or tax fees,” the report said. “Officials say embarrassment and silence keep the real numbers higher than reported.”
Florida was the state hit hardest by the scams, with victims losing $66.3 million and the state logging 2,070 reports per one million residents, according to the study.
The top 10 states can be found below.
- Florida
- North Carolina
- California
- Ohio
- West Virginia
- Arizona
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Missouri
- Alabama
The state least affected by lottery and sweepstakes scams was Maine, the report found. The Pine Tree State saw a total loss of about $2.8 million over the five-year period, and 920 reports per one million residents.
Maine was followed by Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Washington, D.C., Vermont, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Connecticut.
Americans lost more than $660 million to sweepstakes and lottery scams nationwide from January 2020 through June 2025, according to the website. The scams involve criminals deceiving victims into believing they have won a prize in a fake lottery or sweepstakes, with the goal of tricking the victim into sending money for “fees” or revealing personal information.
Vegas Insider said all prizes should be confirmed through an organization’s official website or customer service channel, rather than a link or phone number provided in a notification message.
The website noted multiple red flags for lottery and sweepstakes scams, including people being notified they won money in relation to something they did not enter, being asked to pay a fee to claim a prize, being notified they won through social media, and being pressured to act quickly.
Vegas Insider’s full study is available on its website.
