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Decent valueActive20 Years · $20 · North Carolina Lottery
20 Years: Decent value. A $20 ticket pays back $15.39 on average.
▲ +0.5 pts vs launch#9 of 11 · $20 NC gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:37 AM
▲ +0.5 pts vs launch#9 of 11 · $20 NC gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:37 AM
20 Years is a $20 scratch-off ticket from the North Carolina state lottery. Its current expected value is 77.0%, up 0.5 percentage points from the launch value of 76.4%. 2 of the original 3 $1,000,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 39% of the 3.6M printed tickets have been sold.
77.0%
expected return
1 in 3.45
odds of any win
2 of 3
$1M jackpots left
39%
claimed · 1.4M of 3.6M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 631,705 winning tickets still unclaimed.
19 win more than $20
$40 – $400, an actual profit
10 win their money back
a $20 prize, so you break even
71 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 3,201 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $15.39 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $20 – $500
$13.30 · 66.5% of price
Mid prizes $20K
$1.17 · 5.9% of price
Jackpots $1M+
$0.92 · 4.6% of price
Realistic return, jackpots set aside
72.4%
Just 2 tickets out of 2.2M carry the $1M+ prizes. This is your expected return if none of them is yours.
Most of the value pays out as
$20 – $500 wins
631,575 winning tickets remain in this range: 86% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
39% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Apr 2026.
3.6M
tickets printed
1.4M
tickets claimed · 39%
2.2M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
67%
Tickets left
61%
67% of top prizes remain with only 61% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
North Carolina Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $20 NC peers
#9 of 11
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from North Carolina Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 17, 2026, 6:37 AM.
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