Everything we found in Maryland
Maryland’s lottery publishes its own Group Play form and has its own rule on winners’ privacy. Every fact below is as of October 5, 2026 and comes from the Maryland Lottery’s pages, the Maryland General Assembly’s statute site or the Comptroller of Maryland, linked in the sources. Pools can be created in every state that runs a lottery; Maryland is open.
Is a private pool legal here?
We found no Maryland statute that prohibits a group of people from putting money together to buy tickets and share a prize. The Maryland Lottery provides a Group Play page: “Just choose a leader to manage the group’s play, collect money from all participants and record the information on the form below.” The downloadable Group Play Form has lines for the leader, each participant, the amount each paid and their percentage of the total.
How a group is paid is a different question: The pool agreement names who claims. Maryland's lottery regulations let several people share one ticket: everyone whose name is in the signature area owns it and is entitled to a portion of the prize, and when a prize is split each claimant provides their own identification and tax details; the lottery pays the name written in the designated space. (COMAR 36.02.06.02, .05 and .12, checked Oct 9, 2026) For the exact steps, ask the lottery through its contact page before anyone signs. Our guide How a pool claims a prize explains the IRS group form in general.
ShareTheWinning is free, takes no cut of tickets or prizes and never holds money. Whether a particular arrangement is lawful is a question for counsel, not for us.
Minimum age
18 or older (Lottery game page, checked Oct 1, 2026). The age applies to every Maryland Lottery game, and State Government section 9-124(b)(4) prohibits selling a ticket to a minor. Members confirm their age when they join a pool.
Where tickets are sold
Licensed retailers, plus subscriptions by mail. Section 9-124(b)(2) makes it an offense for anyone other than a licensed agent to sell a ticket. The lottery sells Powerball, Mega Millions and Multi-Match subscriptions through its My Lottery Rewards program: “All subscription orders must be placed through the Maryland Lottery’s My Lottery Rewards (MLR) program,” and “You must have a Maryland mailing address to purchase a subscription.” The lottery does not otherwise sell draw games online.
Courier apps: a bill to license couriers (HB 371) was filed in the 2026 session and was not law as of our review date. The Maryland Lottery does not publish whether a courier service may buy tickets for players; ask the lottery directly through its contact page.
- Powerball multi-draw: Up to 15 drawings per ticket (Maryland Lottery Powerball page, checked Oct 5, 2026).
- Mega Millions multi-draw: Up to 15 drawings per ticket (Maryland Lottery Mega Millions page, checked Oct 5, 2026).
Powerball’s Double Play add-on is offered in Maryland, per the lottery’s Powerball page and powerball.com’s Double Play page.
Group purchase limits: None found in the rules we read (not yet verified). We read State Government section 9-124 and the lottery’s game, claim and Group Play pages.
Claim deadlines
182 days after the drawing (Maryland Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 8, 2026). Count from the drawing date.
Where to claim depends on the prize:
- Up to $600: any Maryland Lottery retailer.
- Up to $5,000: any Expanded Cashing Authority Program (XCAP) retailer.
- Up to $25,000: the cashier’s window at a Maryland casino, or the Baltimore claim center.
- Any amount: the Baltimore claim center, or by mail with a claim form.
Can winners stay anonymous?
Yes. Any winner of a draw game, FAST PLAY or scratch-off prize may stay anonymous; the lottery releases a name or photo only with the winner's written consent. (Maryland Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 8, 2026) There is no dollar threshold. The FAQ notes one exception: second-chance drawings through My Lottery Rewards publish their winners’ identities.
Taxes
- State withholding for Maryland residents: 9.5% on prizes over $5,000; 8.75% for nonresidents (sources disagree on where it starts: Maryland Comptroller tax alert (July 2025): "more than $5,000"; Maryland Lottery FAQ: "$5,001 or more"; estimates here use the reading that withholds more) (State withholding table, checked Oct 9, 2026). Nonresidents have a lower rate; the how-to-claim page and the Comptroller’s tax alert (effective July 1, 2025) list both.
- Taken out at payment or not, still taxed: the FAQ says that “For prizes of $601 to $5,000, taxes are not deducted before you receive your winnings, however these prizes are taxable.” The Comptroller adds that a prize over $500 paid without withholding requires Form PV and payment within 60 days.
- Federal: The lottery withholds 24% federal tax when a prize minus the wager is more than $5,000. A prize of $2,000 or more is reported to the IRS on Form W-2G. (IRS Form W-2G instructions, checked Oct 1, 2026) The final federal bill is settled on your return.
The split calculator applies the Maryland resident rate.
Claim office
- Baltimore: Maryland Lottery Customer Resource Center, Montgomery Park Business Center, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 330, Baltimore, MD 21230. The how-to-claim page says Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.; the appointment page says Monday 8:45 a.m. to 3:55 p.m. and Tuesday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., by appointment only.
- Mail: same address, with a claim form.
Official site: mdlottery.com.
How our pool record helps in Maryland
A ShareTheWinning pool is Maryland’s Group Play form kept honest over time. The members, shares and confirmed payments lock before the ticket is bought; the ticket is photographed and recorded before the drawing; and every change afterward is a new entry, never an edit. When a prize reaches the Maryland threshold ($600 by default), the round goes on hold and we preserve an export bundle for the claim center, the accountant and, if it ever comes to it, a court.
For the first 48 hours after a win, read You won. The first five things to do. The “If we win” stop on the Journey shows the deadline and the privacy rule for Maryland next to your numbers.
