In 1972, citizens of Maryland approved a constitutional amendment to begin a government-run lottery. The Maryland Lottery began on January 2, 1973. The Lottery opened its doors for the first time with 94 employees to handle operations, 3,800 sales agents to sell tickets and 51 banks to distribute tickets to agents and handle deposits. Approximately 60% of sales are returned to players, 30% is used for state-funded programs, 7% is used for commissions to retailers, and 3% is given to the Lottery for operating expenses. The first game Twin Win went on sale on May 15, 1973, and the first drawing was May 24, 1973.
Scratch-offs, now the Lottery's best-selling game, became available on February 10, 1976. In April 1983, Pick 4 began. In September 1995, Maryland introduced
Bonus Match 5. (It ended in 1998, but returned in 2002). In November 2005, the Maryland Lottery signed an $81 million deal with
Scientific Games. As a result,
Racetrax began in August 2006.
Racetrax a
Tabcorp International product, is a
thoroughbred horse racing game.
Racetrax became
Racetrax Bonus in August 2009. Maryland, as part of the January 2010 cross-sell expansion, joined Powerball. In January 2022, the Maryland lottery announced that the 5 card cash game would end on Sunday, February 6, 2022, replacing it with the pick 5 game. As of December 19, 2022, Maryland lottery drawings are conducted using a digital drawing system. Until December 18, 2022, Maryland lottery drawings were conducted using mechanical drawing machines that mix and select numbered balls. On May 6, 2024, the Maryland lottery introduced cash pop with 4 drawings each day. In 2007, the Maryland government passed a bill allowing 15,000
video lottery terminals in five locations throughout Maryland. The following year, voters passed the referendum, Maryland's first casino opened in 2010. As of June 2012, video lottery terminals at the three casinos had generated over $297 million in revenue. Of that revenue, 49.25% is given to education, 33% is given back to the casino operators, 7% is used for
horse racing purses, 5.5% is used for local impact grants, 2.5% is used to help renew the racetracks, 1.75% is given to the Lottery for operational expenses, and 1.5% is given to small businesses. ==Drawings==