BRUNSWICK, Maine — Do you know which state was the first to start a lottery? No scratch tickets will be distributed as prizes, but give yourself a pat on the back if you knew the correct answer is New Hampshire.

“The original game was based on the results of a horse race,” the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries website said, “... and the first tickets were sold March 12, 1964.”

It was called the New Hampshire Sweepstakes.

Maine climbed aboard the gambling express a decade later when voters approved a referendum creating the Maine State Lottery. In 2004, the state joined Powerball. Sales have climbed steadily, and in the fiscal year 2020, Maine’s lottery revenues hit $311,000,000. Clearly, people are drawn to what the Maine State Lottery calls “fun and excitin

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