This fall, keno will be offered by the North Carolina Education Lottery Commission. An outside audit estimated the games could generate up to million by the fifth year and 0 million in revenue over five years, with most of the profits going to education. Last year the lottery generated 4 million overall for education–about 25 percent of the approximately .4 billion in gross sales of numbers drawings and scratch-off tickets.
Lottery Executive Director Alice Garland said, “The legislative leadership and the governor’s office are looking for more revenue from the lottery. And this is quite frankly a good source of new revenue.” Garland said she hopes to have the games available in 500 retailers by the October 15 kickoff and up to 1,500 one year later.
Lottery Deputy Executive Director for Sales Terri Avery said keno could appeal to millennials who do not typically play the lottery. “What does best is definitely your places where people sit and stay for a long period of time. Keno is one of the most exciting things that you’ll ever be a part of it because it’s social and it’s fun,” she said.
An opponent of the new keno games, John Rustin, executive director of the North Carolina Family Policy Council, said, “Clearly the intent is to get increased participation by individuals who are already playing or encouraging and enticing more citizens to play.”
The North Carolina Lottery began selling tickets 11 years ago. It joins 16 other state lotteries that offer keno games.
