The Maryland Lottery has announced several new scratch-off ticket games are in the pipeline for release to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Founded in 1973, the Old Line State lottery’s ticket sales have since generated more than $31.5bn in prizes to players and contributed more than $18.6bn to the state.
The lottery has now unveiled plans to mark its golden anniversary and contributions to Maryland with several new products and promotions.
“It’s exciting for us to mark this moment in history and share it with our players, retailers, and all of Maryland,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin.
“For five decades, the lottery has been focused on responsibly raising revenue to support the state’s good causes and providing Marylanders with an enjoyable source of entertainment.
“To celebrate our 50th anniversary, we’ve planned a lot of great games and promotions that we’re eager to share with everyone.”
The Maryland Lottery began the year with the launch of its first 50th anniversary-themed product, the $1 ‘We’re 50 Win $50’ fast play game, on January 2. This is set to be followed by its Gold Multiplier family of games on January 23.
These games include four scratch-offs ranging in price from $1 to $10. Players will be given the chance to enter non-winning tickets into the Gold Multiplier Second-Chance Promotion for the chance to win one of five $50,000 prizes.
Moving into February, the lottery will launch its first $50 scratch-off ticket, ‘50 Years!’, featuring three $5m top prizes. The month will also mark the beginning of the 50th Anniversary Cash Bash Promotion, with another chance for players to win up to $5m by entering eligible scratch-offs and draw game tickets.
The lottery will also launch the $2 Instant Lottery scratch-off game, paying homage to Maryland’s inaugural scratch-off game of the same name, which launched in 1976.
The 50th Anniversary ‘Cash Bash Promotion’ will culminate in September with an event that will be held at the Maryland State Fair, with 10 finalists vying for a grand prize of up to $5m.
Meanwhile, the lottery announced last month that it has implemented a random number generator (RNG) system for an additional five games in its portfolio.
