Expected Value
Expected value is the average value of one ticket over many identical rounds. It is not a promise about one draw.
Per-ticket EV
Let n be tickets sold, p the ticket price, d donations, and f = 0.01 the ticket fee. Ticket revenue enters the prize pool after the fee; donations enter the prize pool directly.
| pool | P = n * p * (1 - f) + d |
| EV per ticket | EV = P / n |
| edge | (EV - p) / p |
Without donations, the 1% fee makes EV slightly below ticket price. Donations can cover that fee and push the round positive-EV.
EVL
A round is positive-EV when donations more than offset the 1% ticket fee. In the UI, that is the condition behind the EVL marker. The credential is a record that the wallet participated in a positive-EV round; it is not a return guarantee.
Variance
The tiers make individual outcomes noisy. A Grand prize ticket can pay far more than a Second decile ticket, and most tickets still lose. EV tells you the average value across many independent draws, not what one ticket will do today.
Try it
The Math & Simulator page lets you change ticket count, ticket price, donations, and your ticket holdings to see EV, odds, and tier payouts update live.