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Strong valueActiveInstant Millions · $20 · North Carolina Lottery
Instant Millions: Strong value. A $20 ticket pays back $16.03 on average.
▲ +3.0 pts vs launch#5 of 12 · $20 NC gamesUpdated Aug 2, 2026, 12:36 PM
▲ +3.0 pts vs launch#5 of 12 · $20 NC gamesUpdated Aug 2, 2026, 12:36 PM
Instant Millions is a $20 scratch-off ticket from the North Carolina state lottery. Its current expected value is 80.2%, up 3.0 percentage points from the launch value of 77.1%. 2 of the original 4 $2,000,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 69% of the 6.9M printed tickets have been sold.
80.2%
expected return
1 in 3.41
odds of any win
2 of 4
$2M jackpots left
69%
claimed · 4.8M of 6.9M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 636,536 winning tickets still unclaimed.
18 win more than $20
$30 – $200, an actual profit
11 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 4,962 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $16.03 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $20 – $500
$13.95 · 69.8% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $100K
$0.24 · 1.2% of price
Jackpots $2M+
$1.84 · 9.2% of price
Realistic return, jackpots set aside
70.9%
Just 2 tickets out of 2.2M carry the $2M+ prizes. This is your expected return if none of them is yours.
Most of the value pays out as
$20 – $500 wins
636,447 winning tickets remain in this range: 87% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
69% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, May 2024.
6.9M
tickets printed
4.8M
tickets claimed · 69%
2.2M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
50%
Tickets left
31%
50% of top prizes remain with only 31% 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
#5 of 12
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from North Carolina Lottery published claim data, updated Aug 2, 2026, 12:36 PM.
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