CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the first time in its history, the North Carolina Education Lottery exceeded a billion pf revenue in a single year.
The money from lottery sales goes toward public education programs in North Carolina.
Money raised by the lottery supports vital education programs in all 100 counties within the state.
"The whole time that they're having fun enjoying our games, we're raising money for education across North Carolina," Adam Owens, the North Carolina Education Lottery's communications manager, said.
North Carolina is now one of only 10 other U.S. lotteries that have achieved such a high level of revenue generation in a single year.
"The ultimate decision on where that money goes is made by our state lawmakers or state legislators," Owen said. "But we do what we can to provide a gaming fun for people around the state and raise as much money as we can for education in North Carolina."
The lottery exceeded its monetary goal of $885 million set for it by the state. The N.C. Education lottery said 40% of funds went into school construction and repair programs.
"When we're able to do more for education around here, it gets people really excited," Owen said.
Despite a billion-dollar win for education, lottery proceeds make up only a portion of the state's overall education budget.
"It's funding for education that didn't have to come from somewhere else," Owen said.
According to state data, Mecklenburg County received $61 million in lottery funds in 2022. This money is spread out from pre-kindergarten programs, K-12 schools, and local colleges.
"Last year, we got just short of $12 million," Jennifer De La Jara, a CMS School Board member said. "And to put that in context, while we're grateful for it, but to put that in context, that is about one-quarter of one elementary school. So it's a little bit of a misnomer to think of it as that they fund our schools."
The lottery funds are supplemental to a school's budget. It's why you’ll find school bonds on your ballot asking you for more money to go toward building schools.
CMS is asking for a record billion $2.5 billion dollars in an upcoming bond where voting is already underway.
"It's a historic amount because construction costs are historically high," De La Jara said.
You can see how much lottery money went into your county here.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.