Lottery News

On Thursday, the Maryland Lottery announced that it had to hold two drawings for the Bonus Match 5 on March 18 due to a problem that occurred on the drawing date.

The Maryland Lottery assured the players that it will pay the prizes on two separate sets of winning numbers for the March 18 draw, in a press release.

As per the Lottery, each set of winning numbers is separate and independent, and that the tickets must be compared to each set of winning numbers separately. These digits form one set of results combined with the other set of results will not constitute a win.

The two sets of winning numbers were:

• 11, 12, 14, 25, 31, and the Bonus Ball 3
• 9, 20, 26, 27, 34, and the Bonus Ball 17

As per the statements put out by the Maryland Lottery, it conducts multiple drawings, 365 days a year, and adheres to a strict set of procedures. But according to them, any unanticipated problems may occur during the drawings, as was the case on March 18, Bonus Match 5 drawing. According to the lottery officials, the post-draw procedures revealed a problem with the set of balls used for the March 18, Bonus Match 5 drawing.

As per the officials, this had to have the potential to impact the outcome of the drawing, which is why we conducted the second drawing, in accordance with the procedures, providing the players with the opportunity on either set of numbers.

The players of the game are urged to check both the sets of numbers and to hold on to tickets until they can be encashed.

For two consecutive days, i.e., on March 16 and March 17, the same set of numbers were drawn for both the drawings, except the Bonus Ball. The Bonus Match 5 results for both these days were 8, 20, 26, 31, and 38. The Bonus Ball for March 16 was 12, and the Bonus Ball for March 17 was 2.

But the Lottery reassured that the drawing of these duplicate numbers was purely a case of randomness and had nothing to do with the glitch that took place with the drawing on March 18. The Maryland Lottery did not comment on the number of winners and winnings awarded for the drawings. The drawings are conducted using traditional mechanical ball machines. The draws take place every day at 7:51 p.m. EST. As the lottery utilizes a traditional way of drawing, even minor errors can be easily detected by the staff and the players should not have to worry about their winnings.