The New Jersey Lottery unveiled the winners of its Jersey's 'Top Dogs' competition at a Columbus Park press event yesterday. The leading pups will feature on new scratch-off tickets set for release next week.
The tickets which are set for launch on Monday, May 4, and offer prizes of up to $200,000, will be the first from the New Jersey Lottery to feature real dogs and the first created with direct input from players.
New scratch-off tickets coming soon
Lottery executives have chosen 50 dogs of different breeds and sizes, each representing the spirit of the State. Of the 50, 18 of those dogs have been named 'Top Dogs', and were, along with their owners, unveiled at the press conference.
The event also saw the unveiling of the new tickets, featuring the selected pups.
Announced yesterday, the 18 'Top Dogs' are:
- Arlo of Red Bank
- Bailey of Netcong
- Bear of Hamilton
- Brantley of Wall
- Cash of Wanaque
- Dallas of Browns Mills
- Duke of Roselle Park
- Frankie of Union
- George of Cape May Court House
- Ginger of Old Bridge
- Goose of Bridgeton
- Huck of Piscataway
- Jersey of Belle Mead
- Jezebel of Lake Hopatcong
- Lula of Tinton Falls
- Magic of Toms River
- Teddy of Port Monmouth
- Trapper of Egg Harbor City
Executive Director of the New Jersey Lottery, Jim Carey, said:
"Seeing these real Jersey dogs recognized in person and celebrating them in a fun way on scratch-offs makes this ticket very special. We're excited to celebrate community pride, a shared pet connection, and our 'Top Dogs' with players statewide as we launch the official 'Jersey Dog' scratch-offs ticket."
'Top Dog' scratch-offs
Tickets will officially go on sale on May 4 and represent the latest initiative to encourage user participation in the State's lottery games. Tickets will cost $5 and have a top prize of $200,000.
The New Jersey Lottery was formed in 1969 and operates multiple draw-based games, as well as offering scratch-off tickets and it generated over $3.3bn in 2025, with scratch-offs accounting for a significant share of these sales.
Recent estimates suggest adults in the state spend an average of $440 a year on tickets. Current tickets range in price from $1 to $30, with prizes for some of the most expensive tickets totalling millions of dollars.
More than half of the money raised by the State-run lottery scheme goes back to players as prizes. The rest is given over to State programs and schemes. In particular, the money is used to help fund education and senior citizen programs.
A portion is also used to support the public employee pension scheme used by teachers, police and fire personnel in the State.
In fiscal year 2024, total lottery sales amounted to $3.6m and $2.2m was handed back to players with $1.2m being given to beneficiaries.
New Jersey's canine links
The State has close links to its canine population as it is home to The Seeing Eye organization, based in Morristown, which is the world's oldest Seeing Eye organization.
And, in 2020, the Garden State named the Seeing Eye dog as the official State dog.
It is also one of several States, along with neighboring New York, which treats pet dogs as more than property in family disputes. The courts must consider the best interests of the pets when considering separations.
Nearly half of all households have at least one dog, suggesting the State's canine companions will make popular scratch-off ticket subjects.
