Gambling in North Carolina is expanding once more. But this time, instead of casinos, the state is bringing forth a new form of online gambling.
On Tuesday, the North Carolina Education Lottery Commission voted to offer digital instant games online. The online lottery games operate similarly to digital scratch-off tickets and will be available by Nov. 15.
North Carolina lottery is adding to its portfolio of games
This isn’t the first time North Carolina has expanded its online lottery offerings. In April, the lottery commission added two popular draw-style games to the list of titles players can purchase.
In addition to multi-state titles like Mega Millions and Powerball, customers also have access to Pick 3, Pick 4 and Carolina Cash 5. But according to NC Lottery Executive Director Mark Michalko, adding more games is necessary. “We need to do this,” Michalko told WRAL News.
The commission said it would place a cap on the amount a player could gamble in a day, a week, and a month digitally.
- Day cap: $505
- Week cap: $2,000
- Month cap: $4,000
Digital lottery will bring North Carolina extra revenue
Furthermore, the commission estimated that digital scratch-off tickets could generate over $416 million in additional revenue for the state in five years.
“We, as the commission, do not know what the landscape of gaming is going to be in North Carolina over the next year,” said Commissioner Chris Hayes in a WRAL News post.
“There’s still a lot of proposals out there in the General Assembly. We could have more responsibility. We don’t know what the total handle is. We don’t know how many gamblers there are. Introducing new games now with an uneven landscape, I don’t think is the right move.
I think we need to get a better understanding of what types of games are going to be authorized in North Carolina before we move forward.”
Earlier this year, Gov. Roy Cooper included revenue from digital instant games in his proposed two-year budget.
In the proposal, the governor included $81 million in revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which began in July. It also includes $101 million in revenue in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
