The Maryland Lottery & Gaming launched its first $50 scratch off ticket on February 20. This launch is part of a series of new games and promotions celebrating the lottery’s 50th anniversary year.
“We are launching Maryland’s first $50 instant ticket in February at a payout of 79%. The 50 Years! ticket is gold, printed with Scratch FX, and is part of our 50th anniversary initiatives,” said Leslie Mitchell, Senior Product Manager, Maryland Lottery & Gaming.
Maryland Lottery’s new $50 scratch-off follows in the footsteps of 13 other lotteries across the U.S. In calendar 2022, U.S. lotteries generated $4.3 billion in sales from $50 scratch-off sales, according to La Fleur’s Magazine. U.S. “Sales for the $50 scratch-off category increased $2.7 billion from the previous year,” reported Terri Markle, publisher, La Fleur’s Magazine.
“The $50 scratch-off is also sold by the Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hoosier, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin lotteries,” added Markle.
“Our 50th anniversary is a great time to look back at where we’ve been, but we’re also looking forward,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin. “We’ve got a lot of exciting games and promotions planned for this year. It’s only February, so we’re just getting started.”
The game has three $5 million top prizes — the largest scratch-off prizes the Maryland Lottery has ever offered. The 50 Years! ticket also has nine prizes of $100,000, six prizes of $50,000 and more than 1.3 million additional prizes.
There’s also a second-chance promotion loaded with cash prizes and a scratch-off game that celebrates the nostalgia of the Lottery’s earliest days nearly five decades ago.
Another opportunity to win up to $5 million will be available through the 50th Anniversary Cash Bash second-chance promotion. From Feb. 20 through Aug. 1, members of the My Lottery Rewards player loyalty program will receive one entry into the promotion for every $50 worth of eligible Lottery tickets entered into their accounts. Five drawings will be held from March through August that will award 50 prizes of $1,000 and 50 prizes of $2,500. The promotion will also select 10 finalists for an event to be held in September at the Maryland State Fair, where one of the finalists will have a chance to win up to $5 million!
In addition, the Maryland Lottery’s first-ever scratch-off ticket is making a comeback. The Instant Lottery game returns with an updated design similar to the original ticket that launched in 1976. Non-winning Instant Lottery tickets are eligible for the 50th Anniversary Cash Bash promotion, as well as a separate Instant Lottery second-chance promotion offering five $10,000 prizes.
More games and promotions to celebrate our 50th anniversary will be announced in future months. For a complete list of Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency historical milestones, click here.