What's changing at Maryland Lottery: No more balls or televised drawings
Less than a month after mobile sports betting went live in Maryland, the state Lottery and Gaming Agency is pulling the plug on a pair of time-honored lottery traditions: the pingpong balls and televised drawings.
“Lottery balls and machines have been part of the Maryland Lottery’s history,” said agency Director John Martin in a statement announcing the decisions, “but it’s important for us to modernize as we look forward to the next 50 years and beyond.”
The nightly news scene of balls bouncing is coming to a close Dec. 19 as a handful of lottery gaming activities transition to a digital random number generator, run by a computer system. Numbers will still be published on the Lottery’s website, mobile app and by phone line.
“Lotteries fundamentally rely on trust,” said Jonathan Cohen, a historian, who has written a recent book on state lotteries. “There are probably some players for whom that trust entailed being able to watch the pingpong balls.”
Smartplay International Lottery Systems, a New Jersey-based company that runs the digital drawing system for the U.S. Virgin Islands Lottery, will operate the random number generator for the Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5, as well as Bonus Match 5 and Multi-Match contests. Martin, in the release, emphasized the security of the digital systems and the continuity of the contests.
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“We still have the same games with the same prize structures, drawn at the same times each day,” said Martin, calling the new systems “extremely secure.”
Maryland’s lottery contributed more than $600 million to the state’s coffers in 2022, according to a document shared at the Dec. 15 Board of Revenue Estimates meeting in Annapolis.
That figure accounted for less than 3% of total general fund revenue. The board forecasted that lottery revenue would grow less than half a percent next year before a 2% anticipated reduction in 2024.
"It is critical for our new state leaders to take the information in this report to make informed decisions on the state’s budget and long-term fiscal health," the state's outgoing comptroller, Peter Franchot, said.
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Marylanders spent more than $2.6 billion on the lottery last year, and the state’s lottery will enter its 50th year of operation in 2023. Only Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah are not in the business of selling lottery tickets.
Cohen noted nearly $100 billion spent on lotteries nationwide last year. That total, he said, surpasses the amount spent on books as well as concert and movie tickets combined.
“It’s a pastime,” said Cohen, whose book, "For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America," published in September, “but I would exercise a note of caution that folks not put all their hopes on the lottery.”
Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: For 50th year, MD Lottery to ditch pingpong balls, broadcasts
