Last Updated on August 27, 2018 6:39 am
Thanks to record-breaking sales, the N.C. Education Lottery raised the most money ever in fiscal year 2018 for education programs in North Carolina as earnings climbed 7.7 percent to $670 million.
Lottery ticket sales totaled $2.6 billion at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, also up 7 percent from the year before, according to final but unaudited results. The lottery has increased its sales in every year of operations.
Mark Michalko, executive director of the lottery, said the record-breaking results reflect how much North Carolinians enjoy playing lottery games and winning prizes as they help raise money for a good cause.
“The business of the lottery is to provide fun and fair games that deliver prizes that can make someone’s day, their week, or maybe change their life,” said Michalko. “North Carolinians choose how to spend their entertainment dollars. The lottery would not be setting these records if its games did not enjoy broad support across our state.”
The sales make the Education Lottery one of the top sales and marketing organizations in the state. Daily averages show:
• $7.1 million a day in sales.
• $4.5 million a day in prizes.
• $1.8 million a day raised for education.
Michalko said with each year of progress more and more people can see the benefits of the money raised by the lottery. The additional funds help counties build and repair schools, help North Carolina students cover the costs of college, support school systems and provide pre-school for four-year-olds in every county of the state.
The lottery also awarded the most number of prizes of $1 million or more ever, delivering 70 such prizes. The biggest wins of the year were four $10 million top prizes in scratch-off games. In all, the lottery awarded $1.65 billion in prizes. Many winners put their money right back to work in the economy, by paying bills, buying new houses or cars, taking vacations, saving the money for retirement or college, or donating to good causes they care about.
Retailers across the state earned $181 million in commissions, $12 million more than the year before. The commissions play an important role in the state’s retail economy. An additional 158 businesses joined the lottery’s retail network, bringing the total number of lottery retailers to 7,021. Lottery retailers earn 7 percent of their sales in commissions and those earnings play an important role in the state’s retail economy.
Final transfers to the state in June brought the lottery’s total contribution since inception to more than $5.8 billion
