Maryland’s Lottery, casinos, sportsbooks and fantasy sports operators combined to send $1.637 billion to state programs and services in Fiscal Year 2026, which ran from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency announced. The total is the highest in the program’s history, topping the previous fiscal year’s contribution by $48 million and edging out the prior record of $1.589 billion set in FY2023.
The FY2026 total broke down into $822.2 million from the state’s six casinos, $681.6 million in Lottery profits and $133.3 million from sports wagering and fantasy sports combined. Of that overall figure, $699.8 million was earmarked for education programs. Averaged out, the Lottery and the state’s regulated gaming industry generated $4.48 million a day for Maryland causes over the course of the year.
“We’re proud to operate and oversee gaming that raises critically needed state revenue,” Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin said in a statement. “We take a moment each summer after the fiscal year ends to look at the numbers, but we’ve also quickly turned our attention to the future as we aim for a strong FY2027 and beyond.”
The traditional Lottery posted its third-best year in its 53-year history, with $2.676 billion in sales. Scratch-off tickets alone brought in $1.052 billion, marking the fifth straight year scratch-off sales have topped $1 billion. Ticket sales returned $681.6 million in profit to the state, with $532.5 million going to the General Fund and more than $149 million spread across other state funds, including public transit, the Maryland Veterans Trust Fund and Camden Yards improvements. Players, meanwhile, won $1.692 billion in prizes, including 1,659 prizes worth $10,000 or more and 28 jackpots of at least $1 million. The Lottery’s 4,229 retailers statewide earned $199.5 million combined in sales and cashing commissions.
Maryland’s six casinos generated $1.931 billion in gaming revenue, the fifth-best single year since the state’s casino program began 16 years ago, and sent $822.2 million of that to the state. The bulk, $599.1 million, went to the Education Trust Fund, pushing the fund’s total casino-driven contributions past $7 billion since the first Maryland casino opened in 2010. The rest of the casino money supported local communities near the casinos ($103.4 million), the state’s horse racing industry ($94.7 million), the Small, Minority and Women-owned Business Fund ($20.3 million) and problem gambling programs ($4.4 million).
Sports wagering and fantasy competitions contributed a combined $133.3 million, up sharply from $88.9 million in sports wagering alone the prior year. [ledger #7] Sports wagering accounted for $132.3 million of that total, split between the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund ($99.7 million) and the General Fund ($32.6 million), while fantasy sports operators added just over $1 million to the Blueprint Fund.
The state’s Problem Gambling Fund took in $5.4 million during FY2026, made up of $4.4 million in per-machine and per-table assessments paid by casinos and roughly $1 million in expired sports wagering prizes. Maryland residents can access free, confidential counseling for gambling problems by calling 1-800-GAMBLER or visiting mdgamblinghelp.org.
