North Carolina Education Lottery

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The North Carolina Education Lottery was enacted when Governor Mike Easley signed the North Carolina State Lottery Act (H. 1023) and the 2005 Appropriations Act (S. 622) on August 31, 2005.

1 History
2 Proceeds and Payouts
3 Available Games
4 TV stations
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] History

North Carolina, normally associated with the Bible Belt, was the only state on the East Coast without a lottery. The issue divided lawmakers and the public alike. At the time, the opposition of nearly every Republican and a small minority of Democratic lawmakers made the passage of a lottery unlikely. However, on August 30, 2005, two lottery opponents (Harry Brown, R-Jacksonville and John Garwood, R-North Wilkesboro) had excused absences. With this known, a special vote was called and the vote tied 24-24. Then Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue cast the tiebreaking vote, signaling the way for Governor Easley to sign it into law. The vote would have been defeated had the absent senators paired their votes.

[edit] Proceeds and Payouts

Seven percent is paid to retailers as commission.
Fifty percent is paid as winnings to lottery players. (See note below on scratch tickets.)
Eight percent is cost-of-sales.
The remaining 35% goes to education proceeds, broken down as follows:
- Before any proceeds are paid, 5% of the proceeds (1.75% of the total) goes to the Education Lottery Reserve Fund to be used when lottery proceeds fall short of the goal. This fund may not exceed US $100 million.
- Fifty percent of the remainder of the education proceeds (16.625% of the total) goes towards the reduction of class sizes.
- Forty percent of the remainder of the education proceeds (13.3% of the total) is used for school construction.
  - Sixty-five percent of this total (8.645% of the total) is distributed based on school enrollment.
  - The remianing 35% (4.655% of the total) is distributed to counties with effective county property tax rates above the state average based on school enrollment.
- Ten percent of the remainder of the education proceeds (3.325% of the total) are distributed for college scholarships, to be used with the federal Pell Grant.

Originally, North Carolina's scratch tickets had an overall payout of 52 percent, the lowest among scratch tickets then available through US lotteries. While its $1 instant tickets continue to pay out at roughly this level, its newer $2 and higher games now have higher payouts.

[edit] Available Games

Scratch-off tickets, began March 30, 2006.
Powerball, began May 31, 2006.
Carolina Pick 3, began October 6, 2006.
Carolina Cash 5, began October 27, 2006.
Sizzlin' Millionaire Raffle, began May 11, 2007 and ended July 4, 2007.

As a MUSL member, North Carolina is eligible to offer its other games in addition to Powerball; the most likely such addition would be Hot Lotto.

[edit] TV stations

Live lottery drawings are broadcast on these TV stations:

There are no designated stations for the Piedmont Triad, Florence/Myrtle Beach, and Hampton Roads markets, all of which cover portions of North Carolina.