North Carolina led the nation in lottery spending growth
North Carolina posted the biggest increase in lottery spending of any state in 2024, according to a study by LendingTree, the online lending marketplace. Spending per resident rose 20.3%, from $421 in 2023 to $506, the fourth-highest level in the country, WNCN reported. The state's total came to $5.67 billion.
The study credits digital instant games, the online version of scratch-offs that the North Carolina Education Lottery introduced in November 2023 and that brought in more than $1.3 billion in their first fiscal year. The lottery's audited financial reports show how lopsided that growth has been.
| Fiscal year (ends June 30) | Total sales | Paper scratch-offs | All other games | Money to the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $3.89 billion | $2.65 billion | $1.24 billion | $930 million |
| 2023 | $4.34 billion | $2.98 billion | $1.36 billion | $1.02 billion |
| 2024 | $5.38 billion | $2.92 billion | $2.45 billion | $1.09 billion |
| 2025 | $6.59 billion | $2.84 billion | $3.74 billion | $1.08 billion |
Paper scratch-off sales peaked in fiscal 2023 and have dropped about $138 million since. Nearly all of the growth sits in the "all other games" column, made up of draw games and the new digital instants. It nearly tripled in two years. The rise also kept going after the year LendingTree studied. Fiscal 2025 sales reached $6.59 billion, up 22.5% from fiscal 2024, yet the money sent to the state slipped by about $16 million, as we reported earlier.
That gap comes from how digital games count sales. North Carolina's digital instants pay back about 88 cents per dollar wagered, and the lottery counts every wager, so money a player wins and plays again is counted again. So "spending" can rise faster than the cash players actually bring in, and the state keeps less of each dollar than it does on a paper ticket. The North Carolina online games are listed separately from its scratch-offs.
LendingTree's North Carolina total matches the lottery's fiscal 2024 sales of $5.38 billion plus the 5.5% it added for retailer commissions, since the Census Bureau figures it used leave commissions out. In the same study, Massachusetts spent the most per person at $904, ahead of Virginia at $630 and Rhode Island at $567, and North Dakota the least at $51. North Carolina paid back 67.1% of what was spent as prizes, 11th-highest. Virginia ranked first at 75.9%.
How we did this. Per-person spending, state rankings, and payout rates are from LendingTree's study, updated October 19, 2026, which uses the Census Bureau's 2024 Annual Survey of State Government Finances and 2024 American Community Survey population estimates and adds an assumed 5.5% for retailer commissions. North Carolina's sales by fiscal year and money to the state are from the lottery's audited annual financial reports for fiscal 2022 through 2025; "all other games" is total sales minus paper scratch-off sales, and money to the state is the lottery's reported total revenues to North Carolina.
Sources
LendingTree: Lottery spending climbs nationwide, with Massachusetts residents leading the way
WNCN: North Carolina had largest increase in lottery spending in nation, study finds
North Carolina Education Lottery: FY2025 annual comprehensive financial report
North Carolina Education Lottery: FY2024 annual comprehensive financial report
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did lottery spending rise so much in North Carolina?
The LendingTree study and the lottery's own reports point to digital instant games, launched online in November 2023. Sales from other games, mostly those digital instants, rose from $1.36 billion in fiscal 2023 to $3.74 billion in fiscal 2025.
How much does North Carolina spend on the lottery per person?
About $506 per resident in 2024, fourth-highest in the country, according to LendingTree's analysis of Census Bureau data. Massachusetts led at $904 per person, followed by Virginia at $630 and Rhode Island at $567.
Are North Carolina scratch-off sales going up?
No. Paper scratch-off sales were $2.98 billion in fiscal 2023, $2.92 billion in fiscal 2024, and $2.84 billion in fiscal 2025, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery's audited financial reports.
Phil Nageotte is a writer covering scratch-off odds, expected value, prize data, and more. He joined ScratchCheck in 2026 after years of tracking lottery payouts in spreadsheets of his own.
