Denver, CO – September 1, 2026 — The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) today announced the launch of Taxes Paid Scratch-Offs, a new game where the top prize shown on the ticket is the exact amount that lands in a winner’s pocket. The Lottery covers the taxes, so there’s no math and no fine print between the win and the payout.
Available at four price points — $2, $5, $10, and $20 — with top prizes ranging from $20,000 up to $2 million, Taxes Paid Scratch-Offs cover federal and state taxes specifically on the top prizes.
“Between grocery prices, service fees, and surprise charges, everything feels like it comes with an asterisk lately,” said Terri Rose, Chief Brand Officer at NCEL. “We wanted winning to feel as good as the number on the ticket looks. This game differentiates the brand in a fun, unexpected way, and it all comes back to that top prize win.”
The launch is backed by a new campaign from Cactus, built around a very of-the-moment feeling: that everything comes with a catch, and that a lottery win shouldn’t be one of them. The centerpiece spot, “Taxes Paid” follows a couple who win big on a Taxes Paid ticket only to watch a squad of tax agents, who’d been hiding in plain sight around their living room the whole time, pack up and leave the house for good.
“We wanted the cinematography and art direction to do a lot of the talking,” said Shea Tullos, Executive Creative Director at Cactus. “The whole spot is shot in camera, no visual effects, which makes the moment land even harder. It’s our favorite kind of idea — one where the joke does the explaining for you.”
Taxes Paid Scratch-Offs go on sale September 1, with TV, radio, social, and point-of-sale creative running across North Carolina through September 20.
