The N.C. Education Lottery is still here to assist you, but with some changes. Following the recommendation of government officials and per the Governor’s Stay At Home Executive Order, we’ve made some changes to our daily operations to help stop the spread of the coronavirus and help protect our communities.

We will continue to update this page as we have more information. The most recent information will be listed at the top.

5/11/2020

May 11 Update

Lucke-Rewards drawings start again

As Claim Centers reopen, the Education Lottery will begin conducting postponed Lucke-Rewards drawings in May along with our regularly scheduled Lucke-Rewards and second-chance drawings.

The drawings will be conducted in phases, beginning this week with the May Money Madness #2 drawing as originally scheduled along with the first few drawings postponed, March Money Madness #5 and Courtside Cash.

Drawings will continue each week until they are all caught up, hopefully by the end of the month.

5/8/2020

May 8 Update

Claim Centers reopen

Our six Claim Centers across the state reopen Monday, May 11, so that lottery players who have winning tickets can collect their prizes.

We’ll be following strict safety guidelines, as outlined in the state’s Phase 1 plan that allows retail businesses to reopen, to protect your health and that of lottery employees.

Those guidelines include:

• Allowing only a few people into a Claim Center at a time to create the space for proper social distancing during the claims process. We’ll ask others to wait in their vehicles outside until their group is called.
• Requiring anyone entering a Claim Center to wear a mask or facial coverings. To protect your safety, lottery employees will be wearing personal protective equipment including mask or facial coverings and gloves.
• Requiring visitors to our Claim Centers to practice social distancing, staying at least six feet apart from others. We’ve set up our Claim Centers, both inside and outside, to assist you with that safety measure.

If you choose to visit a Claim Center during the first week, please expect the visit to take longer than normal.

To avoid a longer wait, remember you have an extended deadline to claim prizes. Winners of lottery prizes on tickets expiring between March 10 and Aug. 1 have until Nov. 1 to claim them.

Since our Claim Centers are reopening, we will no longer offer our temporary Stay At Home claims process. That process ended at noon on Friday, May 8.

We know many of you are anxious for us to start conducting Lucke-Rewards drawings too. We will start these back up in phases starting next week! Please just be patient with us. If you are entered into any affected drawings, more details are forthcoming. Just make sure you have subscribed to news and promotional email so we can keep you in the know.

Get more information on claiming a lottery prize at www.nclottery.com/ClaimPrizes and for more information on the reopening of our Claim Centers click here.

5/7/2020

May 7 Update

Deadline to claim prizes extended

If you haven’t been able to claim your lottery prize in person due to the Stay At Home Order during the coronavirus outbreak, you’re getting additional time to collect your winnings.

Winners of lottery prizes have until Nov. 1 to claim prizes from tickets that expire between March 10 and Aug. 1. The extended deadline is part of an effort by the state, including the legislature and the governor, to make sure lottery winners have time to collect their prizes.

Our Claim Centers closed temporarily on Monday, March 23 under the state’s Stay At Home Order to help protect the safety of the public, lottery players, and employees. The closing means that players with prizes of $599 or less can claim those prizes as usual at a retail location where lottery tickets are sold and those with prizes of $600 or more have the option to mail in their claims to obtain their winnings.

We want anyone who has the good luck to win a lottery prize to get their prizes. Your prizes will be waiting for you when our Claim Centers reopen and you feel it is safe to visit.

We’re glad you get more time to do that.

You can learn more about the claims deadline extension here.

4/16/2020

April 16 Update

Temporary “Stay At Home” claims process can help you collect big prizes

If you have a winning ticket of $600 or more, we have created a temporary “Stay At Home” claims process as an option if you don’t want to wait till our Claim Centers reopen to get your prize money.

During the Stay at Home Order, we will not require someone who has won a prize of $100,000 or more to claim their prize in person. It’s a temporary change that puts public safety first while providing big winners an opportunity to claim their prizes before our Claims Centers are opened.

The temporary process offers all winners of prizes of $600 or more assurance that their ticket has been validated by the lottery before they submit the original ticket via certified mail. That option begins with a call to our Customer Services team. We’ll connect you with a lottery staff person who will work one-on-one with you to walk through the steps you can take if you want to claim a big prize by mail.

To learn more, call Customer Services at 1 877 962-7529, option 0.

4/6/2020

April 6 Update

Mega Millions multidraw ticket refund

Due to changes to the national Mega Millions game, the NC Education Lottery will provide refunds for Mega Millions multidraw ticket holders who purchased their tickets on or before April 3.

These players may be eligible to receive a refund for the price of all remaining drawings after April 3, 2020 through the expiration of that ticket.

If you made one of those Mega Millions multidraw purchases, please call our Customer Service helpline at 877-962-7529. You can also download the Mega Millions Multidraw Refund Claim Form for additional information about how to claim the refund at https://nclottery.com/ClaimPrizes.

4/3/2020

April 3 Update

U.S. Mega Millions game changes

The Mega Millions Consortium, the national group that oversees the Mega Millions game, has announced changes to the game after the April 3 drawing.

Under the new game rules, jackpots for the national Mega Millions game will be determined on a drawing by drawing basis based on ticket sales and interest rates. That means the game will not have a guaranteed starting jackpot of $40 million or a guaranteed increase between drawings of $5 million.

This decision is not made by an individual lottery, but by the consortium that oversees the game in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The consortium made the decision after ticket sales continue to decline amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Mega Millions tickets are still $2 per play. Drawings will still be broadcasted live every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.

Powerball multidraw ticket refund

Due to additional changes to the national Powerball game, the Education Lottery will extend the time period eligible for refunds for Powerball multidraw ticket holders who purchased their tickets on or before April 2.

These players may be eligible to receive a refund for the price of all remaining drawings after March 25, 2020 through the expiration of that ticket.

If you made one of those Powerball multidraw purchases, please call our Customer Service helpline at 877-962-7529. You can also download the Powerball Multidraw Refund Claim Form for additional information about how to claim the refund here.

For more information please read our blog post.

4/2/2020

April 2 Update

U.S. Powerball game changes

The national group that oversees the Powerball game has announced additional changes to the game after the April 8 drawing.

Under the new game rules, the starting jackpot and increases in the jackpot between drawings will now be solely based on ticket sales and interest rates. This means the game will not have a guaranteed starting jackpot or a guaranteed increase in between drawings.

This decision is not made by an individual lottery, but by the group that oversees the Powerball game in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The group made the decision after ticket sales continued to decline amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Powerball tickets are still $2 per play. Drawings will still be broadcasted live every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.

3/30/2020

March 30 Update

Claim Center Closings

As of Monday, March 30, Lottery Claim Centers are closed to the public until further notice.

Scheduled Drawings

• As the lottery complies with the Governor’s Stay At Home Executive Order, upcoming Lucke-Rewards and Second-Chance draw dates will be postponed. You can continue to enter all drawings as normal. This will not affect your previous or future entries and prizes won. New drawings will still be announced for you to enter. All drawings will take place as soon as possible after the order is lifted.
• These lottery drawings will continue as scheduled, including multi-state games such as Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky for Life and North Carolina games such as Carolina Keno, Carolina Cash 5, Carolina Pick 3, Carolina Pick 4, and Carolina Cash 5.

Buying Tickets

• Ticket sales continue currently, but the lottery relies on its retail partners to decide what is best for their stores and their customers as they remain open to meet the needs of their communities.
• You can still buy tickets for Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky for Life, and Carolina Cash 5 through Online Play on the lottery’s website and with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

Claiming Prizes

We recommend that if you have a winning ticket that you should sign the back and secure it safely until lottery offices reopen. However, you do have other options to claim:

• Lottery tickets with prizes up to $599 can still be cashed at participating lottery retail locations.
• Lottery tickets with wins of $600 to $99,999 can be mailed in, but you should expect delays in the processing of those claims. * Please note we cannot guarantee the delivery of claims so you might want to mail with tracking or delivery notification enabled.*
• If you win $100,000 or more, you must still claim the prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh when we reopen.
• Players who win prizes with tickets through Online Play will have prizes up to $599 paid automatically to their Online Play accounts. Winners of prizes of $600 through $99,000 can claim online following the instructions they receive in the email notifying them of their win.
• You will have 30 days after the state lifts its stay-at-home order to claim prizes on those tickets if they expire before then.
• Download claim forms from here.

Customer Service/Help

Our customer service teams are still here to help. If you have questions about:

• Online Play, Lucke-Rewards and the Mobile App: Help is available every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through online chat and email (customersupport@mail.nclottery.com).
• Anything else: We will continue to staff the toll-free helpline to assist you with other questions. The toll-free Customer Services line is 1-877-962-7529. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. You can also email player.info@nclottery.net with any questions. Please keep in mind that folks just like you are calling in with questions. Because of that, you might experience a longer than normal wait time.

You can always ask questions on our social channels, too. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our Blog. You can also visit the “FAQ” page on our website to get answers to frequently asked questions.