Bits & Odds

Wheel of Fortune — $5 North Carolina Scratch-Off #48

Data captured September 9, 2026

Wheel of Fortune (#48) is a $5 North Carolina scratch-off. As of September 9, 2026 it ranks #47 of 58 active games on current payout (67.6%, $3.38 expected back per ticket) and #12 of 14 $5 games, #41 on any-prize odds (1 in 4.43) and #14 on top-prize odds (1 in 912,846). Since launch the payout has fallen 1.3 points (68.9% at launch) and the any-prize odds have worsened 2.8% (1 in 4.31 at launch). 4 of 5 top prizes of $200,000 remain, and we estimate 3,651,384 tickets are still unsold (34.3% sold). That is below average for North Carolina; the North Carolina ranking lists show better payouts, including at $5.

Current payout
67.6%
68.9% at launch
Expected value
$3.38
per $5 ticket
Any-prize odds
1 in 4.43
1 in 4.31 at launch
Cash odds
1 in 4.43
excludes free tickets
Profit odds
1 in 7.48
win more than $5
$600+ odds
1 in 146,055
claim-at-lottery prizes
Top prizes left
4 of 5
$200,000 each
Tickets remaining
65.7%
≈ 3,651,384 tickets

Prizes remaining

Every prize level in Wheel of Fortune, with the odds printed at launch, the odds today given what is left, and how much of each tier is still unclaimed. Across all tiers, 823,989 of 1,289,278 prizes (63.9%) are still out there.

PrizeOdds at launchOdds now TotalClaimedRemaining% left
$200,000 1 in 1,112,016 1 in 912,846 5 1 4 80.0%
$10,000 1 in 556,008 1 in 608,564 10 4 6 60.0%
$2,000 1 in 278,004 1 in 243,426 20 5 15 75.0%
$500 1 in 19,787 1 in 20,399 281 102 179 63.7%
$200 1 in 9,911 1 in 10,584 561 216 345 61.5%
$100 1 in 1,208 1 in 1,258 4,602 1,700 2,902 63.1%
$50 1 in 70.3 1 in 72.3 79,084 28,615 50,469 63.8%
$25 1 in 149.9 1 in 153.7 37,093 13,330 23,763 64.1%
$20 1 in 16.7 1 in 17.4 333,579 123,286 210,293 63.0%
$10 1 in 17.6 1 in 18.2 315,128 114,996 200,132 63.5%
$5 1 in 10.7 1 in 10.9 518,915 183,034 335,881 64.7%
All prizes1 in 4.311 in 4.43 1,289,278465,289 823,98963.9%

How Wheel of Fortune has moved

66% 68% 69% Sep 2026Sep 2026Sep 2026
Current payout (solid) and any-prize odds (dashed, inverted so up is better) since we began tracking Wheel of Fortune. 3 daily readings.

Recent claims of $1,000 and up

Derived from day-to-day changes in the official remaining-prize counts, so the date is when the lottery published the change.

Wheel of Fortune: common questions

How many $200,000 prizes are left in Wheel of Fortune?
4 of 5 as of September 9, 2026. The chance that a ticket bought today is a top-prize winner is about 1 in 912,846.
What are the odds of winning anything on Wheel of Fortune?
1 in 4.43 today, compared with 1 in 4.31 printed at launch. Cash-only odds are 1 in 4.43, and the odds of winning more than the $5 ticket price are 1 in 7.48.
Is Wheel of Fortune worth buying?
Its current payout is 67.6% ($3.38 back per $5 ticket), rank #47 of 58 in North Carolina. The best $5 alternative today is Double Your Money (#10, $5) at 81.1%. No scratcher has a positive expected value; this is about losing less over time.
How many Wheel of Fortune tickets are left?
We estimate 3,651,384 of roughly 5,557,580 printed tickets are unsold (34.3% sold), derived from the prizes claimed at each tier and their published odds.
When did Wheel of Fortune launch and is it still on sale?
We first saw it on September 7, 2026. It is still on sale.

Other $5 North Carolina scratch-offs