New on-air presentation, personalities, drawing machines make their debut
The Maryland Lottery’s daily televised drawings have a whole new look.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Maryland Lottery has reimagined the visual presentation of its drawings, working with television partner WBAL-TV to upgrade the studio where the broadcasts originate to create an exciting new appearance. The redesign, which will make its debut with the Evening Drawing at 7:56 p.m. on Sept. 28, includes a modern green-screen set, new drawing machines and Lottery balls, new music, and eye-catching animation and graphics.
The Lottery worked with WBAL-TV to design and build a green-screen studio and virtual set, similar to those used for WBAL’s news broadcasts. The new machines are similar to those used by other state lotteries and are operated by a drawings official who is on the set, but out of view of the camera.
Joining the Lottery team are new announcers Victory Ram, who will be the primary host of the evening drawings, and Jared Michael Swain.
Also new to the television lineup is the nightly Bonus Match 5 drawing. Previously, Bonus Match 5 drawings were recorded and available at mdlottery.com, but were not televised. Now the drawings will be broadcast along with the evening Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings. Bonus Match 5 features a top prize of $50,000, and, like Pick 3 and Pick 4, it has a loyal following among Lottery enthusiasts.
“There is a large, dedicated base of players who look forward to watching our daily drawings on TV each day,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director Gordon Medenica. “We’re excited to have a fresh new look, but it’s also important to note that the meticulous work our drawings team does behind the scenes every day hasn’t changed.”
Long-standing security and testing procedures remain in place to protect the integrity of the drawings. The machines and balls are stored in a vault at a secure location that is under constant video surveillance. The machines and balls are tested before and after each drawing to ensure every digit is selected at random. The entire drawing process is conducted in the presence of numerous witnesses, including Lottery officials, WBAL staff and an independent auditor from Stout Causey & Horning. Video recordings of the daily testing procedures are archived.
These rigorous practices are designed to ensure that all winning numbers are the result of random chance and purely the luck of the draw.