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Maryland Lottery Achieves 14th Straight Year of Record Sales

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Lottery Revenue Exceeds $519 Million for State’s General Fund;
Slots Program Generates Nearly $50 Million for Education Trust Fund

The Maryland Lottery added another year to the record books. The agency generated $1.714 billion in sales in fiscal year 2011, breaking its sales record for the 14th year in a row. The Maryland Lottery also contributed $519.37 million to the state’s General Fund, an increase of $8.86 million from last fiscal year. This revenue is used to support important initiatives, such as education, public safety, health and environmental programs. This revenue total makes the Maryland Lottery the fourth largest contributor to the state’s coffers after sales, income and corporate taxes. Fiscal year-end highlights include:

• Sales of $1.714 billion, an increase of $7.83 million from last fiscal year
• Revenue of $519.37 million, $8.86 million more than last fiscal year and the second-highest return in the Maryland Lottery’s history
• Commissions earned by Lottery retailers totaled $113.7 million
• Prizes paid to players reached more than $1.03 billion
• While Lottery sales hit the highest level ever, operational expenses remained low at 3.1% of overall sales

“It’s gratifying to have added yet another year to the record books, especially in light of the challenging economy,” Lottery Director Stephen Martino said. “However, we are particularly pleased the Lottery has generated more than $519 million to support the good causes of the State of Maryland. Every dollar in revenue from the Maryland Lottery is a dollar less that needs to come from taxes.”

Mega Millions and Powerball, the Maryland Lottery’s multi-state jackpot games, registered a combined $159.3 million in sales. Combined sales for all Lottery jackpot games — Mega Millions, Powerball, Bonus Match 5 and Multi-Match — totaled $208.7 million. The Maryland Lottery’s monitor games, which include Keno, Keno Bonus, Keno Super Bonus, Racetrax and Racetrax Bonus, made a strong showing with combined sales of $496.7 million, an increase of nearly $4.7 million from last fiscal year.

In other game figures, Pick 3 totaled $260.8 million in sales with $130.8 million in prizes to players. Pick 4 sales came in at $254.6 million with $126.9 million in prizes to players. The Lottery’s instant games, or scratch-offs, garnered nearly $493.5 million in sales.

Since its inception in 1973, the Maryland Lottery has contributed more than $12.2 billion in revenue to the State of Maryland.

In addition to traditional Lottery sales, the state’s casinos generated millions of dollars to support K-12 public education in fiscal year 2011. The Maryland Lottery regulates the casinos and accounts for all revenue generated by the slot machines, which are owned and/or leased by the state. The cumulative fiscal year gross gaming revenue for Maryland’s two operating casinos, Hollywood Casino Perryville and the Casino at Ocean Downs, totaled $103.054 million with 48.5% — $49.981 million — going to benefit the state’s Education Trust Fund.

Martino added, “As regulator of the state’s casinos, the Lottery is pleased that the program is generating money for the public schools of Maryland and creating new jobs and career opportunities while adhering to the highest standards of integrity and fair play.”

To keep Marylanders informed and maintain integrity and transparency in its regulation of the state’s casinos, the Maryland Lottery posts monthly financial reports on slots revenue on its website, slots.mdlottery.com.