The fascinating history of the North Carolina Lottery and the surprising ways it helps the community

Do you know the history of the NC lottery? Lotteries in NC have a history that dates back to the early 1700s. This is the history of the North Carolina Lottery.

Posted 12:07 p.m. Feb 3, 2023 — Updated 2:16 p.m. Feb 6, 2023

Eric Openshaw

, WRAL contributor

Since the 1700s, lotteries in the United States have been used to raise funds for public projects. North Carolina also uses these lottery systems for huge community returns. Digging deeper into how lotteries in North Carolina have evolved is genuinely a fascinating journey.

North Carolina began its foray into the lottery world back in the late 1700s with a series of lotteries that were held to raise money for various public projects. As the years passed and the popularity of the lottery grew, the state began to get involved in regulating the game of chance.

North Carolina State Lottery History: How it all began

UNC Professor Alan D. Watson’s article, “The Lottery in Early North Carolina” in the North Carolina Historical Review magazine from October 1992 explains that as early as 1760, there was a provision for a lottery as part of the early laws of North Carolina. The act gave the power to four different "Managers" to set up a lottery. The goal was to help fund the final parts of the construction of churches in both Wilmington and Brunswick.

So the new act permitted “adventurers” who took part in the lottery to purchase their tickets with only a signature. Although the price of three pounds was a bit pricey, it offered them a chance to potentially win a substantial prize. To help raise additional funds, the state also permitted churches to use money received from the sale of slaves who were rescued from a Spanish privateer ship that had wrecked.

There was only one other lottery that was tried before 1760, but it didn’t work because of “the Scarcity of Proclamation Money in this part of the Province.”

Lotteries in the state continued until the late 1820s when popularity started waning.

Waning popularity and the banning of lotteries in NC

In the early 1830s, Evangelical reformers across the United States spoke out against lotteries on moral grounds and asked legislators and constitutional conventions to prohibit them. Following the economic crisis of 1837, there were also ongoing lottery-related issues and a general distrust of legislative corruption, which amplified the anti-lottery sentiment.

Back in North Carolina, lottery sales were declining and the goal of $5,555 in funds wasn’t being met. In 1827-28, the NC General Assembly decided that lottery tickets authorized by another state should not be sold in North Carolina. Finally, on April 1, 1835, the legislature banned all public and private lotteries in NC.

Modern North Carolina lotteries | A timeline after signing the NC lottery into law

In the late 20th century, North Carolina began to use lotteries again as a way to raise funds for education. Here’s a basic timeline of the major achievements of the North Carolina Lottery:

August 31, 2005 - North Carolina made history by signing the State Lottery Act into law.
March 2006 - Just seven months later the first lottery scratch-off tickets went on sale in the first North Carolina State Lottery with Tom Shaheen, as the lottery's first executive director, leading the way. These tickets created a unique opportunity for the state and its people giving North Carolinians the chance to be part of this exciting new experience. Only 399 days after launching, total sales exceeded $1 billion.
March 2009 - When the lottery celebrated its third anniversary, it sold $3 billion in tickets and generated over $1 billion for education. To mark the occasion, Carolina Pick 4 was added to the lineup, completing the lottery's daily draw games.
2009 - Scratch-off fans have been able to enjoy the fun of a $10 ticket since 2006, and the fun was doubled in 2009 with the introduction of $20 tickets.
October 2012 - The Lucke-Rewards began. It allowed players to enter tickets online and earn points to enter special drawings to win cash and other prizes. Then in December, players were able to start subscribing to web-based tickets and purchase tickets for jackpot games - a whole new exciting way to try their luck and win.
2013 - $1 billion in instant ticket sales was a top priority for the lottery. This goal was more than met. The following year, half a billion dollars in earnings went directly toward education
2015 - The excitement was taken to the next level with the launch of the first-ever $30 ticket, allowing players to win an eye-watering $10 million prize.
February 2016 - On Super Bowl Sunday, the lottery proudly announced the addition of the multi-state game “Lucky for Life”. Whether you're looking to win huge cash prizes or play for ever-increasing jackpots, Lucky for Life offers something truly unique - the chance to win $1,000 a day for life!
Late 2016 - The mobile app and Play at the Pump program had reached new heights with over 700,000 registered members and 100,000 app users. 2016 also celebrated the lottery’s 10th anniversary. To celebrate 10 amazing years, the US lottery has raised over $4.6 billion for education and generated a total of $15.8 billion in sales. Every year since its inception has seen growth in sales and proceeds.
2016 - With over 10 years since the very first ticket was sold, the Education Lottery was proud to introduce a brand new look.
2017 - The brand evolved to include the most cutting-edge technology in the industry, bringing you an improved experience both in-store and online.
April 2019 - Lottery launches fourth $30 ticket. $300,000,000 Supreme Riches offers four top prizes of $10 million and six $1 million prizes. Quads come up in Carolina Pick 4 drawing resulting in a $6.6 million win for lottery players.
May 2019 - Vielka Roman of Autryville wins a $1.3 million Cash 5 jackpot on Mother's Day, the largest single win for a Cash 5 jackpot in North Carolina. And Wheel of Fortune co-host Vanna White serves as grand marshal at the NC Lottery 200 race.
June 2019 - Charles W. Jackson Jr. of Hope Mills wins a $344.6 million Powerball jackpot, the largest lottery prize ever won in North Carolina. Quads come up in Carolina Pick 4 drawing resulting in a $7.8 million win for lottery players, the most ever won in a single drawing in the game. And for the 13th year in a row, the lottery finishes the fiscal year with record sales, raising $709.2 million for education on sales of $2.86 billion. Players won $1 million or more 66 times.
November 2019 - Carolina Keno game expands statewide with drawings happening every four minutes.
December 2019 - Lottery ticket sales cross a $25 billion milestone on Saturday, Dec. 14, averaging $7.8 million a day.
January 2020 - A new program called Play Smart™, begins. The program makes NC Education Lottery the first U.S. lottery to start an original player-focused, lottery-specific responsible gaming and prevention program centered on the education, encouragement, and empowerment of lottery players.
June 2020 - For the 14th year in a row, the lottery finishes the fiscal year with record sales, topping $3 billion in sales for the first time. From the sales, the lottery raises $729.8 million for education.
August 2020 - The numbers 9-9-9-9 in the Aug. 24 evening Carolina Pick 4 drawing added up to a $9.2 million win for lottery players, the most ever won in a single drawing in the game.
September 2020 - Fast Play gives North Carolinians a fun, new lottery game in which players can win a jackpot instantly. Fast Play is the first type of lottery game to offer a chance to win a rolling jackpot instantly while also giving players the chance to win cash prizes instantly too.
March 2021 - The NC Education Lottery marks its 15th anniversary after raising $8 billion for education since its start. At the current level of sales, the lottery raises on average $2 million a day for education.
June 2021 - The NC Education Lottery sets new records for sales and money raised for education in FY21, earning $936 million in profits from $3.8 billion in sales. With the new sales record, the lottery continued increasing its ticket sales every year of its operations, 15 years in a row.
July 2021 - North Carolinians get a daily chance at winning a lifetime supply of cash as the Lucky for Life draw game begins holding daily drawings. The game is the only lottery game in North Carolina to feature a top prize of $1,000 A Day For Life and a second prize of $25,000 A Year For Life.
August 2021 - The NC Education Lottery receives the World Lottery Association’s Level 4 recertification for its commitment to building the best practices in responsible gaming into all of its operations. Only a few lotteries worldwide have achieved Level 4 certification, the highest level possible under the association’s strict responsible gaming standards. The lottery has achieved this certification twice.
November 2021 - The numbers 0-0-0-0 in the Nov. 13 afternoon’s Carolina Pick 4 drawing added up to a $10.3 million win for lottery players, setting a new record for the most ever won in a single drawing in the game.
April 2022 - The NC Education Lottery crosses a big milestone in its mission to raise money for education in North Carolina, passing the $9 billion mark. The $9 billion milestone comes after the lottery celebrated its 16th anniversary on March 30th. Powerball also celebrates its 30th anniversary. North Carolina joined the Powerball game on May 30, 2006. Since then, the game raised more than $1.1 billion for education programs in the state.
June 30, 2022 - North Carolinians trying their luck on lottery games won the most prizes ever in the fiscal year 2022, helping to raise $929.8 million for education programs. In the fiscal year 2022, the lottery recorded $3.88 billion in ticket sales, continuing its record of increasing sales every and paid out a record amount in prizes, $2.54 billion.

You can also check out a more in-depth timeline of the NC Lottery HERE.

The state benefits of the North Carolina lottery

The North Carolina State Lottery is now a multi-billion dollar enterprise that goes nearly exclusively toward NC education programs. In the most recent fiscal year, FY22, the lottery raised $929 million for education programs and provided $2.1 million to State Alcohol Law Enforcement for enforcing state lottery laws and $1 million to NC Problem Gambling Program to help anyone in the state with a gambling problem.

North Carolinians enjoy playing the lottery and having fun as they try to win prizes. Record ticket sales year after year demonstrate how much North Carolinians enjoy lottery games. Last year, the fiscal year 2022, the lottery averaged $10.6 million a day in ticket sales and awarded $6.9 million a day on average in prizes.

The lottery has a proven track record of operating its games responsibly and with financial integrity. The lottery has received an “unqualified opinion” - the highest rating possible - from independent auditors annually in all of its independent financial audits.

The lottery also holds the highest certification in the world for operating its games responsibly from the World Lottery Association. It is committed to building the best practices in responsible gaming into all of its operations, including areas like retailer and employee training, game development and design, and advertising and marketing, and with its award-winning player education and prevention program, Play Smart™.

Much of the state's funding for education comes from state and local funds, but the lottery has become a significant source of funding for public education programs in North Carolina. Education programs in all 100 counties benefit from lottery funds. The state allocates lottery funds to help each school system with the costs of school staff and transportation; to help counties build new schools and repair older ones; to support the NC Pre-K program that provides an academic preschool for at-risk four-year-olds; and to help make college more affordable with scholarships and grants based on financial need.

WRAL as a North Carolina lottery broadcast partner

WRAL is currently the exclusive broadcasting partner of the North Carolina Lottery. The Evening Pick 3 Pick 4 and Cash 5 and the Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 Drawings are conducted every day right on WRAL. WRAL also broadcasts Powerball drawings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays and Mega Millions drawings on Tuesdays and Fridays. Don't forget to watch!

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