Maryland has published details about the financial contributions of its state lottery, casinos, sportsbooks, and daily fantasy sports operators in FY 2026. As it turns out, the local gaming industry recorded $1.637 billion in contributions to programs during the twelve-month period ended June 30, 2026.
The Industry’s Contributions Continued to Grow
According to the Maryland Lottery’s announcement, the overall gaming industry contributions for FY 2026 were $48 million higher than the one recorded in 2025. Casino gaming stood out as the top contributor, singlehandedly adding $822.2 million to the state coffers. Profits from the state lottery operations stood at $681.6 million, while the contributions of the sports betting and fantasy sector were $133.3 million.
Of the total contributions, $699.8 million was directed toward education programs. The Problem Gambling Fund, on the other hand, received $5.4 million for player safety initiatives.
John Martin, the Maryland Lottery’s gaming director, said:
We’re proud to operate and oversee gaming that raises critically needed state revenue. 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.
John Martin, gaming director, Maryland Lottery
Who Contributed What?
A detailed breakdown shows that the Maryland Lottery’s total sales for the fiscal year were $2.676 billion, setting a new record. Scratch-off ticket sales alone stood at $1.052 billion. The announcement added that over $532.5 million of the $681.6 million profit has been directed toward educational services and programs. The state’s budget allocated $149 million to support other causes, such as public transit, the Maryland Veterans Trust Fund and improvements to the Camden Yards Sports Complex.
As for the players, lottery participants won a total of $1.692 billion in prizes. There were 28 winners of prizes of over a million dollars. For reference, as of the end of FY 2026, the Maryland Lottery boasted 4,229 retail locations across the state.
Casino gaming, on the other hand, recorded $1.931 billion in total revenue. While this wasn’t a record-breaking figure, it was the fifth-best performance in the 16-year history of casino gaming in Maryland.
Casinos ended up contributing $822.2 million to the state, $599.1 million of which went to the Education Trust Fund. Since the launch of the first commercial casino in Maryland, the ETF has received over $7 billion in funding from the casino sector. Additional contributions included $103.4 million for local aid, $94.7 million for the Racetrack Facility Renewal and Horse Racing Purse Dedication accounts, and $4.4 million for the Problem Gambling Fund.
Lastly, the betting & fantasy sports sector recorded $132.3 million in revenue, marking a significant improvement from $88.9 million in FY 2025.
Per Maryland’s rules, both retail and online sportsbooks pay 15% of their taxable proceeds to the Blueprint For Maryland’s Future Fund. Mobile sportsbooks pay an additional 5% to the General Fund. In 2026, the Blueprint For Maryland’s Future Fund and the General Fund received $99.7 million and $32.6 million from sportsbooks, respectively.
Fantasy sports operators, meanwhile, contributed $1 million to the Blueprint fund, equivalent to 15% of their proceeds.