North Carolina Education Lottery

North Carolina has one of the United States' youngest lottery systems, having been enacted in 2005.

[1] 100% of North Carolina Lottery net proceeds go directly to benefit the state's education, with the current figure sitting at more than $10 billion since its inception in 2006.

[1] By law, lottery funds go to pay for school construction, need-based college financial aid, transportation, salaries for non-instructional support staff, and pre-kindergarten for at-risk four-year-olds.

[1] The controversial lottery proposal was approved on August 31, 2005, after then-Lieutenant Governor Bev Perdue cast a tie-breaking vote in the North Carolina Senate.

North Carolina, traditionally associated with the Bible Belt, was the only state on the East Coast without a lottery.

At the time, the opposition of nearly every Republican and a minority of Democratic lawmakers (consisting of progressives)[2] made the passage of a lottery unlikely.

[2] However, on August 30, 2005, two lottery opponents (Harry Brown, R-Jacksonville and John Garwood, R-North Wilkesboro) had excused absences.

Perdue withheld approximately $88 million to fill shortfalls in the North Carolina budget.

[4] This controversial move by the Governor prompted North Carolina lawmakers on March 10, 2009, to propose a name change to the NCEL, to remove "Education" from its name.

While its $1 instant tickets continue to pay out at roughly this level, its newer $2-and-up games now have higher-percentage payouts.

Began on April 17, 2009, Carolina Pick 4 also is twice daily (prior to February 27, 2011, it was drawn once nightly).

Players can win multiple fireball prizes on the same ticket depending on the unique numbers selected.

This feature costs an additional $1 per play, and the Top prize in the Double Play feature is $50,000 (the top prize has a $250,000 liability limit for each drawing for each set of numbers) and is won by matching all five numbers in any order.

The game offers 5 chances every day to win anywhere from 5-250 times the wager amount with one number drawn from 1-15 for each cash pop drawing.

[9] Lucky for Life is a lottery drawing game available in 23 states and the District Of Columbia.

On Nov 27, 2021, a player accidentally purchased 2 identical sets of numbers and won 2 $25,000/year for life prizes.

Mega Millions is drawn Tuesday and Friday nights at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time in Atlanta Georgia.