North Carolina lottery sales fall short of expectations

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Ticket sales for the North Carolina lottery's first fiscal year fell well short of expectations.

Officials say the new lottery generated about $110 million less in education funds than lawmakers had expected.

The North Carolina Education Lottery put another $69 million yesterday in a dedicated state fund for education.

The Lottery Education Fund has now received $375 million since the first tickets were sold in March 2006. The fund is earmarked for initiatives such as class-size reduction, preschool programs, school construction and college scholarships for needy students.