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The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency is a part of the US state of Maryland's history and economy. Established in 1973, it has provided revenue for the state of Maryland. The fourth-largest contributor to the state's economy, the Maryland Lottery has generated more than $13.3 billion in revenue since its inception to support the state, including public health, public safety, education and the environment. The Maryland Lottery is an independent agency of the Maryland government. Its games include Mega Millions, Powerball, Multi-Match, Keno, Bonus Match 5, and numerous Scratch-offs. The Maryland Lottery is headquartered in Suite 330 at 1800 Washington Boulevard, in Montgomery Business Park, Baltimore. The minimum age to buy Maryland Lottery tickets is 18. For video lottery (currently available at Hollywood Casino Perryville, Casino at Ocean Downs, and Maryland Live!), the minimum age is 21. Winning Maryland Lottery numbers are shown on local Baltimore television station WBAL-TV. Maryland's largest Mega Millions jackpot winner was for the March 30, 2012 drawing, which produced the world's largest jackpot, approximately $656,000,000. A ticket sold at a Baltimore County 7-Eleven won a one-third share of the jackpot (the other tickets were sold in Illinois and Kansas.) As with the other two sets of winners in that drawing, the ticket holder(s) chose the cash option, rather than the 26 yearly payments. ==History== In 1972, citizens of Maryland approved a constitutional amendment to begin a government-run lottery. The Maryland Lottery began on January 2, 1973. The Lottery opened its doors for the very first time with 94 employees to handle operations, 3,800 sales agents to sell tickets and 51 banks to distribute tickets to agents and handle deposits. Approximately 60% of sales are returned to players, 30% is used for state-funded programs, 7% is used for commissions to retailers, and 3% is given to the Lottery for operating expenses. The first game—Twin Win—went on sale on May 15, and the first drawing was May 24.〔Maryland Lottery (2007), p. 8〕 Scratch-offs, now the Lottery's best-selling game, became available on February 10, 1976.〔 ''Pick 3'' was introduced in July 1976.〔Maryland Lottery (2011), p. 11〕 In April 1983, Pick 4 began.〔 Keno, initially played only at Lottery retailers equipped with monitors, began in January 1993. (Keno expanded to ''Keno Bonus'' in 1999, and ''Keno Super Bonus'' in 2009.〔Maryland Lottery (2011), p. 12〕) In September 1995, Maryland introduced ''Bonus Match 5''. (It ended in 1998, but returned in 2002.)〔 In 1996, Maryland help launched ''The Big Game'', which became ''Mega Millions'' in 2002. (Mega Millions now is offered by 44 lotteries.) In March 2012, a Maryland player won a one-third share of the largest jackpot in American history, $656 million. In November 2005, the Maryland Lottery signed an $81 million deal with Scientific Games. As a result, ''Racetrax'' began in August 2006.〔Maryland Lottery (2011), p. 13〕 ''Racetrax'' a Tabcorp International product, is a thoroughbred horse racing game. ''Racetrax'' became ''Racetrax Bonus'' in August 2009.〔 ''Maryland Lotto'' was replaced by ''Multi-Match'' in 2006.〔Maryland Lottery (2011), p. 14〕 Maryland, as part of the January 2010 cross-sell expansion, joined Powerball.〔Maryland Lottery (2011), p. 15〕 In 2007, the Maryland government passed a bill allowing 15,000 video lottery terminals in five places throughout Maryland. The following year, voters passed the referendum; Maryland's first casino opened in 2010. As of June 2012, video lottery terminals at the three casinos had generated over $297 million in revenue. Of that revenue, 49.25% is given to education, 33% is given back to the casino operators, 7% is used for horse racing purses, 5.5% is used for local impact grants, 2.5% is used to help renew the racetracks, 1.75% is given to the Lottery for operational expenses, and 1.5% is given to small businesses. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maryland Lottery」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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