Bits & Odds

North Carolina Scratch-Offs: Lots Sold, Few Top Prizes Claimed (October 2026)

Updated · 6 behind on top prizes · 3 in their last tickets

As of October 25, 2026, 6 North Carolina scratch-offs have sold lots of tickets but paid out few top prizes. Top of the list: $1,000,000 Triple Play ($10), 59% sold, only 1 of 5 top prizes claimed, with jackpot odds of 1 in 757,712, better than 1 in 1.5 million on launch day. 3 games are in their last 10% of tickets with a top prize still waiting.

What it means: fewer top prizes claimed leaves the rest spread over fewer tickets, so the jackpot odds are better than on launch day. It does not make a win any closer: every ticket was a winner or not from the day it was printed, and some top prizes are sold but not cashed yet.

Lots sold, few top prizes claimed

  1. $10

    $1,000,000 Triple Play

    #996
    59% sold only 1 of 5 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    4 of 5
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 757,712
    On launch day
    1 in 1.5 million
    Payout now
    74.8%
    Last top prize won
    470 days ago
  2. $30

    $5,000,000 Ultimate

    #876
    72% sold only 2 of 5 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    3 of 5
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 1.5 million
    On launch day
    1 in 3.3 million
    Payout now
    77.6%
  3. $2

    Cash Drop

    #12
    55% sold only 1 of 4 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    3 of 4
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 1.0 million
    On launch day
    1 in 1.7 million
    Payout now
    62.6%
  4. $5

    Wheel of Fortune

    #48
    42% sold only 1 of 5 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    4 of 5
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 803,205
    On launch day
    1 in 1.1 million
    Payout now
    66.6%
  5. $10

    50X The Cash (#31)

    #31
    27% sold only 2 of 12 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    10 of 12
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 1.5 million
    On launch day
    1 in 1.7 million
    Payout now
    75.0%
  6. $5

    20X The Cash (#30)

    #30
    29% sold only 3 of 15 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    12 of 15
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 1.3 million
    On launch day
    1 in 1.4 million
    Payout now
    68.5%

Last tickets, top prize still waiting

10% or fewer of the tickets left. A top prize nobody claims by the deadline is never paid.

  1. $10

    $1,000,000 Bonus Match

    #11
    last 5% of tickets, a top prize still waiting
    Top prizes left
    1 of 5
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 365,393
    On launch day
    1 in 1.5 million
    Payout now
    92.4%
    Last top prize won
    15 days ago
  2. $10

    Cashword King

    #7
    last 8% of tickets, a top prize still waiting
    Top prizes left
    1 of 5
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 490,477
    On launch day
    1 in 1.2 million
    Payout now
    77.9%
  3. $5

    LOTERIA® Fiesta

    #2
    last 9% of tickets, a top prize still waiting
    Top prizes left
    1 of 6
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 683,119
    On launch day
    1 in 1.2 million
    Payout now
    75.8%

Left out: Win Big. Our ticket count for it is too shaky to call. Why.

Frequently asked questions

Which North Carolina scratch-offs have sold lots but paid out few top prizes?
6 today. $1,000,000 Triple Play: 59% sold, only 1 of 5 top prizes claimed; $5,000,000 Ultimate: 72% sold, only 2 of 5 top prizes claimed; Cash Drop: 55% sold, only 1 of 4 top prizes claimed.
Does that mean a top prize is about to be won?
No. Every ticket was a winner or not from the day it was printed. What changes is the odds: the top prizes left are spread over fewer tickets, so 6 of these games have better jackpot odds than on launch day. They are still long odds.
How do you decide a game is behind?
A game that has sold half its tickets would, on average, have paid out about half its top prizes. We list a game when at least one whole top prize fewer has been claimed than its share of sales would usually bring, and the share of top prizes left beats the share of tickets left by 5 points or more. For $1,000,000 Triple Play, about 59% sold would usually mean about 2.9 top prizes claimed; 1 has been. The share sold is our estimate from the official prize counts (see methodology).
Could a top prize already be won and just not claimed?
Yes. A prize counts as claimed only once the winner turns the ticket in, and winners have months to do it, so part of any gap is tickets already sold.
Are these the best North Carolina scratch-offs to buy?
Not on value: their median payout is 71.7%, against 73.3% for every scratch-off on sale, because top prizes are a small part of most games' prize money. For the most back per dollar, see the payout ranking.
Is this free?
Yes, every day. One paid tier elsewhere sells this as a subscriber alert; here it is a page anyone can read.

More North Carolina lists

North Carolina hub Top prizes remaining Current top prize odds Current payout Ending games How odds change after launch

See how we calculate this and where the data comes from.