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Average valueActiveMega Bucks · $5 · North Carolina Lottery
Mega Bucks: Average value. A $5 ticket pays back $3.45 on average.
▲ +0.0 pts vs launch#4 of 17 · $5 NC gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:36 AM
▲ +0.0 pts vs launch#4 of 17 · $5 NC gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:36 AM
Mega Bucks is a $5 scratch-off ticket from the North Carolina state lottery. Its current expected value is 69.0%, up 0.0 percentage points from the launch value of 69.0%. 5 of the original 5 $200,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 13% of the 7.3M printed tickets have been sold.
69.0%
expected return
1 in 4.50
odds of any win
5 of 5
$200K top prizes left
13%
claimed · 920k of 7.3M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 1,421,341 winning tickets still unclaimed.
14 win more than $5
$10 – $200, an actual profit
8 win their money back
a $5 prize, so you break even
78 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 26,546 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $3.45 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $5 – $500
$3.27 · 65.5% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $200K
$0.18 · 3.5% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$5 – $500 wins
1,421,266 winning tickets remain in this range: 95% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
13% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Jun 2026.
7.3M
tickets printed
920k
tickets claimed · 13%
6.4M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
100%
Tickets left
87%
100% of top prizes remain with only 87% 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 $5 NC peers
#4 of 17
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from North Carolina Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 17, 2026, 6:36 AM.
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