The N.C. Education Lottery raised $729.8 million to support education programs in North Carolina in fiscal year 2020.

The amount of money raised sets a new record, topping last year’s amount by $20.6 million, or almost 3 percent. On average, the lottery generated almost $2 million a day for education in fiscal year 2020, according to unaudited year-end results.

“It’s more important than ever that our education programs get as much help as they can to achieve their mission,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the Education Lottery. “Our state was depending on the lottery for these education dollars. The money raised will do a lot of good. Thanks to all the North Carolinians who enjoy lottery games.”

The additional dollars support education programs in all 100 counties of the state, as determined each year by legislators in the state budget. The money raised helped:
• Build and repair schools.
• Make college more affordable through scholarships and grants based on financial need.
• Support school systems with the costs of school workers and transportation.
• Support the NC Pre-K, a free academic prekindergarten program for at-risk four-year-olds.

Retailers across the state also earned $209 million in commissions from lottery ticket sales, $10 million more than the year before. With 7,015 retail locations, the commissions play an important role in the state’s retail economy.

At the end of the year, the lottery’s total contribution to the state since inception in March 2006 exceeded $7.3 billion.