Casino Gaming Delivers $6.75B to Maryland Education Fund | The Locally Times
State records show casinos have contributed $6.75B to education since 2010, but a January revenue dip and a lack of spending reports obscure the program's impact on schools.
A February 16 report from Maryland Lottery and Gaming confirms that casino gaming revenue has directed $6,753,692,517 to the Maryland Education Trust Fund. The data, which covers the period from the inception of casino gaming in September 2010 through January 2026, details a massive flow of funds from the state’s six casinos into public coffers. Over the 15-and-a-half-year period, Maryland casinos generated a total of $20,915,811,045 in revenue. The contribution to the Education Trust Fund represents the single largest share of this total designated for a public beneficiary, accounting for roughly 32 percent of all revenue generated. While the cumulative total is large, the most recent monthly figures indicate a potential slowdown. Casino revenue for January 2026 totaled $147,877,520, a decrease from the $151,795,660 generated in January 2025. This trend is also reflected in the fiscal year-to-date figures. For Fiscal Year 2026, which began July 1, 2025, casinos have generated $1,115,947,377, lagging behind the $1,137,804,270 recorded at the same point in Fiscal Year 2025. The largest portion of the total $20.9 billion in casino revenue, $11,768,004,810, has been retained by the casino operators themselves. Other beneficiaries of casino revenue since 2010 include the state’s horse racing industry, which has received $1,009,462,690. An additional $1,044,741,810 has been designated for “Local Support,” a category for which the state report provides no further itemization. Smaller portions have been allocated to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming agency for its own operations ($160,873,349), a fund for small, minority, and women-owned businesses ($163,698,850), and the state’s General Fund ($15,337,018). Separately, the state has also collected funds to address the social costs of gambling. The Problem Gambling Fund has received a cumulative total of $56,421,748 between Fiscal Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2025. State records show this fund is supported by an annual assessment on each casino of $425 per slot machine and $500 per table game. ## Opaque Spending and Parallel Funds Compounding the complexity of education funding from gaming, a separate and more recent revenue stream also exists. A February 16 Sports Wagering Revenue Report from Maryland Lottery and Gaming shows that the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund has accumulated $244,883,524 from sports wagering contributions. This total covers the period from December 2021 through January 2026. The sports wagering reports also show contributions to the state’s General Fund ($22,026,469) and the Maryland Problem Gambling Fund ($5,237,722) from this newer form of gaming. While the state diligently reports the billions flowing *into* the Education Trust Fund and the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, publicly available documents do not detail how that money has been spent. The reports track the collection and top-level distribution of these funds, but the trail ends there. The documents do not explain how the two education-focused funds coordinate their efforts or whether their missions overlap. Crucially, there is no public record detailing the specific allocation of the $6.75 billion from the Education Trust Fund to school districts, educational programs, infrastructure improvements, or teacher salaries. Consequently, it is not possible from the available data to assess the tangible impact or measure the outcomes of this funding program. The state reports also do not specify what oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure the funds are used effectively. ## From State Billions to Local Budgets The lack of transparency in state-level spending has direct implications for residents and local governments. Across Maryland, county officials and school boards make critical decisions about their own budgets, often with incomplete information about how state-level funds might affect their needs. For example, residents attending public hearings on county budgets to advocate for school funding do so without a clear public accounting of how much money from the state’s Education Trust Fund has flowed into their local schools since 2010, or how it has been used. This information gap complicates local accountability and makes it difficult for the public to determine whether state gaming revenue is supplementing local education efforts or supplanting local budget obligations. This disconnect is not unique to county governments. Board of Trustees meetings at community colleges and public sessions of municipal governments face the same challenge. For residents in these communities, the path from a casino slot machine to a classroom resource remains undocumented. The state’s reports confirm the money is being collected, but where it goes and what it does remains the central, unanswered question.