Maryland Lottery

Start with the exact game, drawing date, play type and any bonus or add-on field printed on the ticket. A Pick 3 ticket, a Multi-Match ticket, a FAST PLAY ticket and a multi-state ticket do not all use the same prize or claim process.

Match the ticket to the exact draw

Lottery Valley can help you compare posted numbers, review older drawings and find the right Maryland game page. The Maryland past-results archive is the better route when you need a particular game and date, while the Maryland drawing calendar handles schedules and cutoff context. The Maryland Lottery remains the official source for winning numbers and final ticket validation.

Before making a claim, check the game name, drawing date, midday or evening designation, play type, bonus fields and number of plays. Keep the original ticket secure until the official validation and payment process is complete.

Buying Maryland Lottery tickets

Ordinary Maryland Lottery tickets are purchased through authorized retailers. The Maryland Lottery App and My Lottery Rewards can help with ticket checking, playslips, rewards and retailer information, but neither app is a general service for buying an individual physical ticket directly over the Internet.

Maryland's official subscriptions are different. They are recurring entries for selected games, not a general online ticket marketplace. Do not treat an ePlayslip, a saved number selection or a third-party service as proof that a Maryland ticket has been purchased.

Official subscriptions are a separate purchase path

The Maryland Lottery currently offers subscriptions for Powerball, Mega Millions and Multi-Match. Plans can cover 13, 26 or 52 weeks, and a Maryland mailing address is required. The current public process is to create the subscription through My Lottery Rewards, print the completed form and mail it with a check or money order for processing. The mailed form contains the barcode the Lottery uses to activate the subscription.

Maryland enacted 2025 legislation authorizing an Internet-connected system for subscription-plan purchases. That legal authority does not by itself mean that ordinary single-draw tickets can be bought online, or that the public subscription workflow has become a fully electronic checkout. Follow the current operational instructions before sending payment.

Debit cards, credit cards and ePlayslips

Maryland retailers may accept debit cards, but credit-card purchases are not permitted. Debit acceptance can still vary by retailer or terminal. This is separate from the Lottery offering individual tickets online. Subscription instructions currently call for a check or money order, not cash. See the Maryland Lottery retailer guidance.

An ePlayslip lets you select and save numbers and generate a barcode for a retail transaction. It prepares the selection. The ticket is created only when the authorized retailer or qualifying terminal processes the purchase.

Maryland's two official apps and ticket checking

Maryland's apps are not interchangeable. The Maryland Lottery App is the general game-information and draw-ticket app. My Lottery Rewards is the player-loyalty app and has its own ticket scanning and promotional functions.

Maryland Lottery App

The Maryland Lottery App can show winning numbers, jackpots and game information, create ePlayslips, find retailers, and scan eligible draw-game and FAST PLAY tickets. As of June 2026, it is not the app to use for scanning Scratch-Off tickets.

My Lottery Rewards

The My Lottery Rewards app can scan supported Maryland tickets, including Scratch-Offs, draw games and FAST PLAY. It also supports Rewards points, achievements, second-chance and Points for Drawings promotions, and subscription access.

Scanning a ticket is a way to check for a possible win or enter an eligible promotion. It is not a substitute for the Maryland Lottery's formal validation and claim process. If a retailer terminal returns an error, keep the ticket and receipt and contact the Maryland Lottery rather than assuming another retailer can resolve it.

Claiming Maryland Lottery prizes

The claim route depends on the prize amount, ticket type, claimant, and whether the ticket is an ordinary retail ticket, subscription entry or promotional prize.

Retailers and XCAP

XCAP means Expanded Cashing Authority Program. Not every retailer participates, so use the current XCAP location list rather than assuming the nearest retailer can cash a larger prize. XCAP retailers cannot cash prizes over $600 for certain resident or nonresident aliens whose tax identification number begins with 9. That is a restriction on that claim channel, not a general statement that a person cannot win a Maryland Lottery prize.

Casinos and Lottery headquarters

Participating Maryland casino cashier windows can redeem winning Lottery tickets valued up to and including $25,000. A Maryland Lottery ticket can generally be bought at 18, but entering a casino to use its cashier requires age 21. An 18-to-20-year-old winner should use an eligible retailer, claim center or the current mail process instead.

Prizes over $25,000 are processed through Maryland Lottery headquarters. Current instructions say customer-resource-center visits require an appointment and that Headquarters pays by check. The current claim page also warns that larger claims may require at least 30 business days for processing and payment. Older FAQ language has described at least 15 business days, so do not treat either figure as a guaranteed payment date.

Mail, documents and special prize types

The Maryland Lottery FAQ says prizes of any value may be submitted by mail. Mailing a claim is a submission method, not a promise of immediate payment or proof that the claim has already been validated. Use the current claim form and mailing instructions, protect the original ticket, and allow time for delivery and review.

For claims over $600, prepare the valid original ticket, a completed claim form, acceptable photo identification and proof showing the full nine-digit Social Security number or Tax ID. The claimant's name must match the documentation.

Subscription winnings can follow a separate process. Maryland may accumulate smaller subscription winnings, send certain amounts without a claim form, or require documentation. A subscription jackpot requires the winner to complete the claim process through Lottery headquarters. My Lottery Rewards second-chance and Points for Drawings prizes also follow their promotion-specific claim instructions rather than the ordinary retail-ticket table.

Maryland claim deadlines and cash-option choices

Maryland's regulations transfer an unclaimed monetary award to the Unclaimed Prize Fund after the applicable 182-day period. For Scratch-Offs, the Lottery publishes the game's last date to claim and announces it with 182 days' notice. A list of prizes remaining is not the same thing as the final claim date.

Jackpot games can add another deadline. For Multi-Match, the current rules say the winner must select the Cash Option within 60 days after the validation date, even though the ticket can be claimed within 182 days after the drawing. That cash-election clock is not the same as the claim deadline. Powerball and Mega Millions have their own current prize rules, so do not apply Multi-Match's installment structure to every jackpot game.

Lottery pools, trusts and entity claims

Maryland does not use a blanket rule saying that a trust or LLC can never claim. COMAR 36.02.06.17 provides a process when the entity name is entered as the winner. The entity may need formation documents, trust terms or partnership records, an EIN, proof of the representative's authority, matching legal names and signatures, and an affidavit concerning owners or beneficiaries.

For a shared ticket, identify the actual owners and keep the allocation and tax reporting separate from the person who physically submits the ticket. A group may need the current Maryland claim materials and IRS Form 5754 so the payer can report the shares to the people who actually own them. A group subscription also has its own eligibility and manager rules.

An entity claim is not a guaranteed privacy strategy. Maryland's entity-claim regulation says documents submitted by the entity and its representative are public records. Anyone considering a trust, LLC or other entity should understand the documentation and tax consequences before the ticket is submitted, rather than assuming the entity will make the winner anonymous.

Maryland Lottery winner privacy

An ordinary Maryland winner may remain anonymous. The Maryland Lottery says the names and photographs of winners of draw-game, FAST PLAY and Scratch-Off ticket prizes are not released without the winner's written consent. The Lottery still needs identity, tax and validation information internally to pay the prize.

That protection does not automatically carry over to My Lottery Rewards promotions. The Lottery's FAQ says second-chance and Points for Drawings winners are subject to different publicity rules and their identities are published under those promotion terms. Entity documentation also has separate public-record implications. Privacy, claimant identification and promotional publicity are three different questions.

Maryland Lottery taxes and state obligations

The 2026 IRS W-2G instructions distinguish information reporting from regular withholding. A $2,000 federal reporting threshold does not change Maryland's claim-location thresholds, identification requirements or state-obligation checks. Likewise, 24% federal withholding is not necessarily the winner's final federal tax bill.

Maryland Lottery guidance currently lists the resident and nonresident state withholding rates above. Older Maryland tax-tip material contains different historical percentages, so use the current Lottery and Maryland tax authority guidance for the year of payment. Use the Maryland Lottery tax calculator for an estimate, and treat the result as planning information rather than a filed return.

A Maryland claim can also be checked for qualifying State obligations, including covered child-support and government-agency obligations. This can reduce the amount paid even when the issue is not a tax bill. The claim center determines the applicable deduction and pays any remaining prize under the current rules.

Current games, the retired Cash4Life game and Maryland Lottery funding

The Maryland dashboard and Maryland games directory should own the current game list. The current roster includes Maryland number games, Bonus Match 5, CASH POP, Multi-Match, Powerball, Mega Millions, Keno, Racetrax, FAST PLAY, Scratch-Off products and the current Powerball Xs & Os offering. Game-specific routes own rules, odds, schedules and prize structures.

Cash4Life is not a current Maryland game. Its final drawing was February 21, 2026, so it should not appear as an available subscription, upcoming draw or current annuity example. Historical results can remain useful. Do not replace it with Millionaire for Life unless Maryland's current official roster confirms participation.

Maryland's FY2026 traditional Lottery results also need to be kept separate from the broader regulated-gaming total. The Lottery reported $2.676 billion in ticket sales, $1.692 billion in player prizes and $681.6 million in Lottery profit returned to the state. Of that Lottery profit, $532.5 million went to the General Fund and more than $149 million was allocated across designated state funds, including public-transit initiatives, the Maryland Veterans Trust Fund and Camden Yards Sports Complex improvements.

The widely reported $1.637 billion FY2026 contribution is a combined figure for the Lottery, casinos, sports wagering and fantasy sports. It is not Lottery-only revenue. Maryland's General Fund supports a range of public services, including public schools, but it is not accurate to describe every traditional Lottery profit dollar as directly earmarked for one education program. Unclaimed monetary awards follow the separate Unclaimed Prize Fund process under Maryland regulations.