Celebrating the real winners on National Lottery Day

It’s National Lottery Day and we have millions of reasons to celebrate. Like 2.5 million every day.

Here in North Carolina, your lottery raises about $2.5 million a day. Those dollars have helped cover the cost of building new schools, reduce the financial load of paying for college, and even cover enrollment for at-risk four-year-olds into a Pre-K program.

National Lottery Day is celebrated every year on July 17 and on this day, we get to pause and share what lotteries do. And this year U.S. lotteries are celebrating National Lottery Week for the fifth time.

Lotteries have been around a long time. We’re talking as far back as George Washington-times in North America, alone. The first modern lottery in the U.S. launched in 1964 in New Hampshire . Lotteries in the U.S. exist to ensure games of chance are operated fairly and responsibly and to raise money for good causes.

In North Carolina, your lottery, established in 2006, raises money for a great cause, public education.

So, where does the money go?

All the money raised here supports education. Other lotteries support other good causes like senior programs, outdoor programs, and programs for veterans.

Your lottery raises money for education in our state in the following ways:

• $386 million – providing salaries for most of the support staff in our public schools;
• $358 million – helping to build and repair schools;
• $41 million – helping to make college more affordable for tens of thousands of students;
• $78 million – supporting the NC Pre-K program for over 12,000 four-year-olds; and
• $21 million – helping to cover the costs of getting students to and from school, safely.

Since the start of the lottery, more than $10 billion has been raised for education in North Carolina. You or someone you know may have benefited from those funds. Share your story as part of our Moving NC Students Forward program, and you could earn $2,000. Learn more at the Moving NC Students Forward website.

So, as you play your favorite lottery games this week, know that your play makes a difference. It’s helping move education in our state forward.