Mega Bucks
Image Credit: North Carolina Lottery
40
VALUESCORE
Fair
At $5 a ticket, Mega Bucks comes from the North Carolina Lottery. Its published overall odds are 1 in 4.50. The expected value is $0.69 per $1 spent, which is an average return compared to other scratch-offs. The top prize is $200,000. About half the prizes remain (54% remaining). Its ValueScore is 40/100 (Fair). Against the rest of the state it is 51st out of 79 North Carolina scratch-offs. At its own price point it is 9th of the 21 active $5 games in North Carolina.
Overall Odds
1 in 4.50
Exp. Value
$0.69
per $1 spent
Top Prize
$200,000
Top Prizes Left
2
Prizes Remaining
54%
ValueScore™
40 / 100
Fair
Should I Buy This Ticket?
Expected value per $1 spent:
$0.69→
AVERAGE
At 51st out of 79 North Carolina scratch-offs, it neither stands out nor falls behind.
Why
→You get back about $0.69 per $1 on average, which is normal for this price.
- At 1 in 4.50, winning tickets turn up less often than usual.
- A reasonable chunk of the top and mid-tier prizes are still available, though not the majority.
Current Prize Odds
ScratchCheck estimate$200,000
2 of 5 left
launch odds 1 in 1.5M
now ~1 in 2.0M
$5,000
7 of 15 left
launch odds 1 in 488K
now ~1 in 566K
$1,000
31 of 62 left
launch odds 1 in 118K
now ~1 in 128K
ScratchCheck estimate. Current odds are derived from the prizes still unclaimed and our estimate of tickets remaining, shown next to the lottery’s printed launch odds. Actual odds vary as tickets are sold and prizes claimed.
Prize Breakdown
| Prize | Odds | Total | Left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | 1 in 1,463,544 | 5 | 2 | 40% |
| $5,000 | 1 in 487,848 | 15 | 7 | 47% |
| $1,000 | 1 in 118,028 | 62 | 31 | 50% |
| $500 | 1 in 38,924 | 188 | 97 | 52% |
| $200 | 1 in 29,271 | 250 | 130 | 52% |
| $100 | 1 in 100 | 73,070 | 37,997 | 52% |
| $50 | 1 in 126 | 58,267 | 30,472 | 52% |
| $30 | 1 in 240 | 30,538 | 16,149 | 53% |
| $20 | 1 in 60 | 122,031 | 64,488 | 53% |
| $10 | 1 in 10 | 731,707 | 393,872 | 54% |
| $5 | 1 in 12 | 609,664 | 337,101 | 55% |
Prize Pool Analysis
Total Payout at Launch
$25,223,500
Current Prize Pool
$13,262,255
Payout Percentage
52.6%
Total Prizes Remaining
880,346
Ticket Statistics
Total Tickets Printed
7,316,087
Estimated Remaining
3,961,557
% Remaining
54.1%
Prize pool figures use advertised prize values. Tickets printed is estimated from overall odds. Tickets remaining is estimated from the share of prizes still unclaimed.
ValueScore™ Breakdown
40
VALUESCORE
Fair
40
out of 100
Expected Value
11/40
Prize Quality
11/25
Win Frequency
6/20
Inventory Health
12/15
Updated: 9/4/2026
Game Details
- State
- North Carolina
- Game Number
- 45
- Ticket Price
- $5
- Start Date
- 6/2/2026
- Payout %
- 68.9%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 9/4/2026
Compare
Compare this game with another →Official Source
View on North Carolina Lottery ↗Simulate This Game
Run a virtual scratch-off using this game's real odds.
Image Credit: North Carolina Lottery
$5.00 per ticket · 1 in 4.50 overall odds
✓ Accounts for prizes already claimed
Entertainment only. Outcomes are random and won't match a real session. Current-odds mode scales each tier by remaining prizes and tickets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Mega Bucks scratch-off a good buy?
Mega Bucks is a middling ticket with a ValueScore of 40/100. It is roughly average compared to other scratch-offs in North Carolina. If you are looking for the best value at this price point, check the North Carolina rankings page for higher-rated alternatives.
How much does Mega Bucks cost?
Mega Bucks costs $5 per ticket in North Carolina. All ScratchCheck figures for this game (expected value, ValueScore, and top prize analysis) are calculated against this $5 ticket price.
What are the odds of winning the Mega Bucks scratch-off?
The overall odds of winning any prize with Mega Bucks are 1 in 4.50. This means roughly 1 in every 5 tickets wins a prize of any amount.
What is the top prize for Mega Bucks?
The top prize for Mega Bucks is $200,000. As of our latest update, 2 top prizes remain unclaimed.
What are the prizes for Mega Bucks?
Mega Bucks offers 11 distinct prize levels: $200,000 (5 total), $5,000 (15 total), $1,000 (62 total), $500 (188 total), $200 (250 total), $100 (73,070 total), $50 (58,267 total), $30 (30,538 total), $20 (122,031 total), $10 (731,707 total), and $5 (609,664 total). The full prize breakdown with odds and remaining counts is listed in the prize table on this page.
How many prizes are left in Mega Bucks?
Based on our latest data, 54% of all prize tickets remain (approximately 880,346 out of 1,625,797 total). Roughly half the prizes remain, which is typical for an active game.
How is Mega Bucks rated by ScratchCheck?
ScratchCheck rates Mega Bucks at 40 out of 100 using ValueScore™, a composite rating built from four factors: Expected Value, Prize Quality, Win Frequency, and Inventory Health. Scores of 80 or above are Excellent, 60 to 79 Good, 40 to 59 Fair, 20 to 39 Below Average, and below 20 is Poor. The score updates automatically as prizes are claimed and data refreshes.
When was Mega Bucks released?
Mega Bucks was released by the North Carolina Lottery on June 2, 2026. It has been on sale for about 3 months.
How often is Mega Bucks data updated on ScratchCheck?
Mega Bucks data comes directly from the official North Carolina Lottery and is refreshed daily, so the odds and remaining prize counts you see match the lottery's latest published figures.