Maryland Lottery Second Chance Drawings
The Maryland Lottery is very popular.
Although Maryland is the 19th most populous state in the country, it ranks number 10 in lottery sales, (per statista.com).
In fact, in the last fiscal year alone, the Maryland Lottery reported over $2.6 billion in sales!
The good news for those of you who play is that the lottery offers numerous promotions and second chance drawings – all of which means you should never throw away those draw tickets or losing scratch-off tickets, without first entering them online.
2nd Chance Games Available with the Maryland Lottery
The Maryland Lottery offers players two different second-chance opportunities:
- Promotions
- Second-Chance Drawings
1. Promotions
Maryland Lottery’s promotions program is where you enter tickets and acquire points. These points can then be used to enter drawings, or to buy merchandise (everything from cologne to blenders).
The nice thing here is that you can enter all draw game tickets, (the daily Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5 games, Bonus Match 5, Cash 4 Life, Mega Millions, Powerball, etc.), even if they haven’t lost.
You can also enter scratch game tickets, but only if they are losers (or “non-winners” as the lottery calls them).
Prizes included in these drawings aren’t life-changing. A recent drawing gave 15 people a little outdoor fire pit. Other prizes included a camping set (tent, sleeping bags, etc.), a laptop, and a 65 inch TV.
In the past, drawings have included trips to Key Largo and Las Vegas.
So although they won’t change your life, at least it’s free to enter these contests (that is, free after you’ve bought a ticket).
2. Second Chance Drawings
As opposed to the promotions program, these second chance drawings are for a limited number of games, typically scratch off games.
And the prizes are much greater.
Maryland Lottery Second Chance Scratch Off
In the recent $5 Family Feud scratch off game for example, you could enter your losing ticket into a drawing in which they gave away $50,000 to a player.
Just think, someone who bought a lottery ticket and lost, took a few seconds to enter it into a free drawing, then turned that loser into $50K.
Other drawings in this game included a drawing where 5 different people won $10,000 each, and another drawing where 10 different “losers” won $5K each.
The popular Monopoly scratcher game also had a second chance drawing. Ticket prices ranged from $1 to $10, but you could enter any Monopoly ticket. (The number of entries you received into the drawing was equal to the amount of the ticket. In other words, a $1 ticket got you 1 entry).
Each of the six different second-chance drawings had 10 different winners of $2,500 in cash, and one winner who received the progressive jackpot (often over $50,000).
A past Baltimore Ravens X5 and X10 scratch off game had second-chance prizes consisting of a pair of season tickets to the Ravens for 20 years.
Because of these big cash prizes, it’s most definitely worth your while to enter those losing scratch off tickets into the Maryland Lottery’s second chance drawing.
Second Chance Drawings for Draw Games
There are some of these second chance drawings for draw games, but the prizes are typically less.
For example, there is a 2nd chance Pick 5 game, where you enter a Pick 5 ticket for a chance at winning….another Pick 5 ticket.
The recent Home Run Riches Bases Loaded 2nd Chance Drawing was a little more lucrative. It allowed you to enter any Fast Play ticket into a pool where they had six drawings.
Each of the six drawings, a winner was selected for each Baltimore Orioles game. That person would receive $500, plus another $500 for every home run hit by the Baltimore Orioles in that game. So in other words, the package was worth $500 total. (The Orioles are averaging less than one home run per game as of this writing).
How to Enter the Maryland Lottery 2nd Chance Drawing
You first begin by registering a My Lottery Rewards account at the Maryland Lottery’s website here: rewards.mdlottery.com
It’s free and only takes a few minutes.
You can also do this via Maryland Lottery’s My Rewards app from the Apple Store or Google Play store. (To make it confusing, there’s also an official Maryland Lottery app where you can check winning tickets).
Maryland Lottery Second Chance App
One you have a My Lottery Rewards account and have downloaded the My Lottery Rewards app, you can easily scan the QR code on the front of the ticket to quickly have your ticket entered into a second chance drawing.
This same scanner will enter your points in the My Lottery Rewards system. When you have enough points, you can choose to use those points to either buy merchandise or use them to enter drawings for prizes.
This scanner also acts as a way to check draw game and scratch-off tickets to see if they are winners.
This option would have been very beneficial to someone out there who purchased a Powerball ticket at an Exxon station in Rockville, Maryland.
The ticket was a $10 million dollars winner, however the buyer failed to claim their prize!
So use the Maryland Lottery’s My Lottery Rewards app to easily enter into second chance drawings. And to see if maybe you are a $10 million dollar winner.
More about the Maryland Lottery
- You must be 18 years or older to purchase lottery tickets and to enter into any 2nd chance opportunities.
- Of the various games available, scratch-off tickets are by far the most popular, with $993 million in sales last year. The second most popular game is the Pick 4 game, with close to $400 million in sales. Powerball and Mega Millions combine to generate $200 million in ticket sales.
- Five Card Cash, on the other hand, seems to be the Maryland Lottery’s least popular game, with just under $6 million in sales.
- You can reach the official Maryland Lottery’s website here: mdlottery.com
- Their phone number is: (410) 230-8800
(By Steve Beauregard. Photos courtesy of the Maryland Lottery)