The North Carolina House voted to start a state lottery Wednesday — setting the stage for a rival numbers game that could siphon more than $100 million in sales away from the S.C. lottery each year.

North Carolinians account for about 12 percent of income from S.C. lottery ticket sales, according to the S.C. Education Lottery Commission.

Resignation was the reaction among those who administer the S.C. lottery — launched in 2002 after a pitched political battle — and those who rely on its income.

“We’ve been very happy providing lottery services for North Carolina citizens, but it’s just one of those things we have no control over,” Lottery Commission chairman John C.B. Smith Jr. said

South Carolina lottery sales pay for college scholarships and other education programs — to the tune of $953 million in the fiscal year that ended last June.

Of that, about $114 million came from N.C. pockets.

“We know that if lottery revenues decrease, the funding amounts for our students are also going to decrease,” said Lawrence Ray, spokesman for S.C.’s technical college system. “The cost of attendance might be a barrier for some students. That’s a concern.”

The S.C. Legislature has appropriated $839 million in lottery income for education from the lottery’s beginning in 2002 through the end of the last fiscal year, according to the lottery commission.

The 62-58 vote in the N.C. House hardly surprised S.C. lottery officials, who knew the climate in North Carolina had become increasingly favorable toward a lottery in recent years.

One of N.C. Gov. Mike Easley’s main arguments for a lottery was that North Carolinians are buying lottery tickets anyway — from South Carolina, Georgia and other states — so the money might as well stay in-state.

The measure must be approved by the N.C. Senate, which historically has favored a lottery. Supporters have said a lottery can be up and running in North Carolina within six months of legislative approval.

Like South Carolina, North Carolina also would use lottery proceeds for education — scholarships, school construction and other needs.

Along with educators, thousands of lottery ticket sellers are bracing themselves for a loss in lottery income.

Merchants most likely to be affected dot the state line and stream down I-95.

By far, York County leads in lottery ticket sales among South Carolina’s 46 counties. Abutting Charlotte, York County has accounted for 8 percent of the S.C. lottery’s $7.6 billion in sales since 2002.

Jacob Meeks, head clerk at Corner Store #2 in Rock Hill — 20 miles from the N.C. border — said 10 percent to 15 percent of his lottery sales are to North Carolinians. Those sales will likely disappear if North Carolina establishes its own lottery.

“And there’s not much we can do about it,” he said.

One South Carolinian who is taking the potential N.C. lottery in stride is Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, who argued against an S.C. lottery.

“He consistently opposed it for a number of reasons, and one of those is exactly what we’re seeing today,” Sanford spokesman Will Folks said. “You don’t want to fund your core, unending needs with a potentially unstable revenue source. He’s always thought lottery revenue was gravy.”

Reach Markoe at (202) 383-6023 or lmarkoe@krwashington.com Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658 or asheinin@thestate.com The Associated Press contributed.