North Carolina scratch-off statistics
79 active games · average odds 1 in 4.39 · 268 top prizes of $10,000+ unclaimed
North Carolina market snapshot
Pulled from our catalog on September 23, 2026. Averages cover every active game, not a sample.
What North Carolina charges, and what you get for it
Higher-priced tickets almost always carry better overall odds and a higher payout rate, because the prize pool scales faster than the ticket price. This table is the state's own catalog, grouped by price.
| Price | Games | Share of catalog | Avg overall odds | Avg prize payout | Avg ValueScore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 tickets | 5 | 6% | 1 in 4.86 | 60.6% | 24.0 |
| $2 tickets | 10 | 13% | 1 in 4.64 | 66.3% | 28.9 |
| $3 tickets | 1 | 1% | 1 in 3.99 | 66.3% | 20.1 |
| $5 tickets | 21 | 27% | 1 in 4.27 | 69.1% | 38.9 |
| $10 tickets | 16 | 20% | 1 in 4.55 | 74.5% | 51.0 |
| $20 tickets | 13 | 16% | 1 in 4.13 | 76.5% | 60.7 |
| $30 tickets | 10 | 13% | 1 in 4.03 | 79.9% | 71.1 |
| $50 tickets | 3 | 4% | 1 in 5.24 | 81.5% | 62.9 |
North Carolina lottery sales by fiscal year
Straight from the lottery's published annual reports. Per-resident figures divide instant sales by the state population from the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program (Vintage 2025) (10,730,404 residents), so they count every resident rather than only adults or only players.
| Fiscal year | Instant sales | Total sales | Instant share | Per resident | To the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.84B | $6.59B | 43.2% | $265 | $1.08B |
| FY2024 | $2.92B | $5.38B | 54.4% | $272 | $1.09B |
| FY2023 | $2.98B | $4.34B | 68.6% | $278 | $1.02B |
| FY2022 | $2.65B | $3.89B | 68.2% | $247 | $929.8M |
| FY2021 | $2.56B | $3.81B | 67.3% | $239 | $936.8M |
| FY2020 | $2.09B | $3.02B | 69.3% | $195 | $729.4M |
| FY2019 | $1.91B | $2.86B | 66.8% | $178 | $709.2M |
Instant-game sales moved +48.9% across FY2019-FY2025. That figure is nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation, and part of any increase reflects higher-priced tickets rather than more tickets sold.
- North Carolina Education Lottery FY2019 CAFR (year ended June 30, 2019)
- North Carolina Education Lottery FY2020 CAFR (year ended June 30, 2020)
- North Carolina Education Lottery FY2021 ACFR (year ended June 30, 2021)
- North Carolina Education Lottery FY2022 ACFR (year ended June 30, 2022)
- North Carolina Education Lottery FY2023 ACFR (year ended June 30, 2023)
- North Carolina Education Lottery FY2024 ACFR (year ended June 30, 2024)
- North Carolina Education Lottery FY2025 ACFR (year ended June 30, 2025)
Sales are the Note 3 game-revenue lines, which the lottery reports net of prize tickets validated and itself calls total ticket sales. The transfer column is Note 12 "Total Revenues to the State of North Carolina" on an accrual basis, which differs from cash moved during the year. Digital instant games launched in November 2023 and count toward total sales as gross wagers at about an 88% payout, so total sales and the instant-share column are not comparable across the FY2023 to FY2024 boundary. The physical scratch-off line is labeled "Instant" before FY2022.
North Carolina sales by game, FY2025
Every product line the North Carolina lottery prints in its FY2025report, largest first within each group. Share is each line's part of the total across the lines shown here. Online play is booked differently by every lottery, so its accounting basis is printed beside the figure and it is not directly comparable to a retail line.
| Game | Sales | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Scratch-offsScratch | $2.84B | 43.2% |
| In-state draw gamesDraw | $1.15B | 17.4% |
| Online / digitalDigital Instant(gross wagers) | $2.60B | 39.4% |
| Total of lines shown | $6.59B | 100% |
North Carolina publishes draw games as one line; no per-game split.
Digital instants are booked as gross wagers; the report shows $2,301,958 thousand of prizes against this line, about an 88% payout.
How fast North Carolina top prizes get claimed
We snapshot every game's remaining prize counts daily, so we can show depletion rather than just the current number. This counts the drop in top prizes remaining each month across 76 tracked games whose top prize is $10,000 or more, 97 claimed in total over the window. No other site publishes this.
Top prizes claimed per month. A game that launched mid-window only contributes claims recorded after its first snapshot, so its opening month reads low.
ValueScore spread across North Carolina
Our ValueScore™ rates each game 0-100 on expected value, prize quality, win frequency and remaining inventory. Scores are ranked within the state, so a 60 in North Carolina means good relative to what else is on the shelf here.
See the ranked list on the North Carolina ValueScore ranking, or compare against other states on the national stats page.
Common questions
How many scratch-off games does North Carolina have?
North Carolina currently has 79 active scratch-off games across 8 price points, from $1 to $50. 12 launched in the last 90 days.
What are the average odds on a North Carolina scratch-off?
Across all 79 active games the average published overall odds are 1 in 4.39. The single best game right now is 1 in 2.93. Overall odds count every prize tier, including prizes equal to the ticket price.
How much unclaimed top-prize money is left in North Carolina?
At least $216.4M in top prizes is still unclaimed across North Carolina's active games, covering 268 individual top prizes. Treat that as a floor. We count only games whose top prize is $10,000 or more, only games whose lottery publishes a remaining count, and only the top tier of each game.
How much does North Carolina sell in scratch-off tickets?
North Carolina reported $2.8B in instant-game sales in FY2025, which is 43.2% of all lottery sales. That works out to $265 per resident. Figures come from North Carolina Education Lottery FY2025 ACFR (year ended June 30, 2025).