Canadians will soon have a chance to win a bigger lottery jackpot — and twice as often.
Come May 2019, the Lotto Max jackpot cap is increasing to $70 million, up from the current $60 million.
Also, beginning May 11, 2019, Canadians will be able to play Lotto Max every Tuesday, in addition to the existing Friday draw.
The Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC) said the second draw every week means lottery players will see jackpots grow more quickly than ever before.
The WCLC also said $1 million Maxmillions prizes will kick in when the main jackpot reaches and exceeds $50 million.
There will also be two new prize categories: match 5/7+bonus, and match 4/7+bonus.
The lottery said the odds of winning the main jackpot will be 1 in 33.3 million per $5 ticket.
When Lotto Max was introduced in 2009, it offered multiple $50 million jackpots a year. The jackpot cap increased to $60 million in 2015.
Since its launch in 2009, Lotto Max has paid more than $10 billion in prizes.
According to the Atlantic Lottery Corp. (ALC), Lotto Max is by far the most popular draw game for the provincial lottery, where it has continued to grow in popularity since its launch.
The thing that I liked the most was besides adding another drawing, increasing the cap and two new prize categories that the price remains the same.
The part of having 7 numbers to win the jackpot got me a bit curious. So in my research I found this out about the game;
"So you need to match 7 to win the jackpot. That immediately gives some pretty tough odds. But strangely for a lottery game you are forced to buy more than one entry! The ticket price is actually $5 but for this you get 3 picks. The odds of one of your entries hitting the jackpot are pretty much 1 in 86 million for a 7 from 49 draw. But odds are brought down to at least 1 in 28.6 million as everyone has to buy 3 entries minimum."
The source for this above statement was under Lottery World Syndicate... Interesting how they think that getting 3 total choices reduces the odds to 1/28.5 Million
So then I went to Canada-Lotto and here's what they said;
"You can play LOTTO MAX by Quick Pick, where the Ticket Terminal will randomly choose your selections, or pick your own numbers using a Selection Slip. You can also choose Play Both to receive the same selections on LOTTO MAX and WESTERN MAX. Refer to the Play Both box below for more information. Ask for a LOTTO MAX Quick Pick or select seven numbers from a field of 1 to 49 on the slip. For each $5 LOTTO MAX purchase, you will also receive two additional Quick Picks. You can purchase up to five LOTTO MAX on one ticket. Add EXTRA for an additional $1 per number*. You can add up to five EXTRA (one per each LOTTO MAX purchase) by specifying it with your Quick Pick request or by marking “Yes” under each board played."
So then I went to Lottomaxwinningnumbers and here is their interpretation;
"Tickets can be purchase(<---their typing error not mine) from just about any convenience store or gas station across Canada. Tickets cost $5 and players receive three lines of seven numbers. For each line of numbers players select seven numbers from one to forty-nine plus a bonus number. To win the jackpot the player must match seven out of seven numbers. You can either select the numbers yourself or opt for a Quick Pick. If you opt for a Quick Pick the terminal will select the numbers for you automatically. If you win you can claim your prize at the same place you bought your ticket." "Odds to win the jackpot (match seven numbers) are 1 in 28.6 million per $5 ticket."
Goodness gracious me !!! So I think I got it. You get 3 lines of 7 numbers for $5. To hit the jackpot you have to hit all 7 numbers out of a possible 49 numbers available, whose odds are 1 in 28,663,528
But in our main article as you can see, the new odds are 1/33.3 Million for the jackpot. But Canada Lotto said that it was 1 in 86 million for a 7/49 draw and Lottomaxwinning numbers said it was 1 in 28.6 Million......
Our Neighbors to the north sure have some unique ideas on odds calculations.. Think I will just stick with the PB/MM/LA games here in the good ole USA, where we know our what our odds are, exactly. Good luck to anyone that participates across the border. Most of all, Good luck tonight(if you are playing) with PB/LA or any other state lotteries
https://lottery.olg.ca/en-ca/lotto-games/lotto-max/how-to-play-lotto-max#lottomax-howto
You Can Only Choose 1 Self Pick For Every $5 Play.
On a LOTTO MAX Selection Slip, mark seven numbers from 1 to 49 that you want to play.
For each set of numbers played, the lottery terminal will generate two additional sets of numbers chosen.
LOTTO MAX draws will be moving to two draws a week. A Tuesday draw will be added in addition to the current Friday draw.
The new jackpot cap will increase to $70 million from the current $60 million. MAXMILLIONS will continue to be added when the main jackpot reaches $50 million.
One number will be added to the game’s matrix. Seven numbers will be drawn from a range of 1 to 50 from the current 1 to 49.
• Two new lower-tier prize categories will be added for matching 5/7+Bonus and 4/7+Bonus which will increase the number of prize categories from seven to nine.
• The percentage of Pools Fund allocated to each prize category will change to accommodate the new prize categories. The overall payout of the game remains at 48%.
• LOTTO MAX players will have the option to play up to 52 draws in advance.
The price to play LOTTO MAX remains the same at $5 per play while offering bigger jackpots and more chances to win with the two brand new prize categories.
5. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN ODDS BETWEEN THE CURRENT LOTTO MAX AND THE NEW LOTTO MAX?
See below prize structures.
Existing Game (until May 11, 2019)
Match
Prize
Odds per $5 play (3 selections)
7/7
89.25% of the Pools Fund
1 in 28,633,528
6/7+Bonus
3.15% of the Pools Fund
1 in 4,090,504
6/7
3.35% of the Pools Fund
1 in 99,768
5/7+Bonus
No prize
5/7
4.25% of the Pools Fund
1 in 1,584
4/7+Bonus
No prize
4/7
$20
1 in 71.3
3/7+Bonus
$20
1 in 76.7
3/7
Free Play
1 in 8.1
*The odds of winning any prize are one in 6.6 per $5 play.
New (as of May 11, 2019):
Match
Prize
Odds per $5 play (3 selections)
7/7
87.25% of the Pools Fund
1 in 33,294,800
6/7+Bonus
2.5% of the Pools Fund
1 in 4,756,400
6/7
2.5% of the Pools Fund
1 in 113,248
5/7+Bonus
1.5% of the Pools Fund
1 in 37,749
5/7
3.5% of the Pools Fund
1 in 1,841
4/7+Bonus
2.75% of the Pools Fund
1 in 1,105
4/7
$20
1 in 82.9
3/7+Bonus
$20
1 in 82.9
3/7
Free Play
1 in 8.5
*The odds of winning any prize are one in 7 per $5 play
6. WHY HAVE THE ODDS TO WIN ANY PRIZE DECREASED (FROM 1.66 TO 1.7)?
LOTTO MAX players told us they didn't want the $5 price point to go up but wanted to see larger jackpots and growing MAXMILLIONS. While the overall odds of winning any prize decreases slightly from 1 in 6.6 to 1 in 7 (a 0.4 per cent decrease), we enhanced the game by providing twice a week draws, increasing the jackpot cap to $70 million and adding more chances to win with the two new prize categories. The overall payout of LOTTO MAX remains the same at 48%. All these enhancements were made while keeping the price of the ticket the same.
Thanks LottoBux.... 7/50 clears up everything...appreciate the info. Is your lottery drawn with a RNG or Ping Pong balls ?
What l (love) about the Canadian lottery, is that their lottery winners, winnings are NOT taxed. The interest on their winnings are subject to taxation though. Uncle Sam could learn a lesson from our neighbors up north.
https://lottery.olg.ca/en-ca/help/about-lotteries-tickets-and-lotto-games/lotto-max
I'm Sure This Will Be Updated On The Website Eventually To Accomodate The Tuesday Draws
14. WHEN ARE DRAWS HELD AND HOW ARE THE NUMBERS DRAWN? WHEN CAN I BUY A TICKET FOR THE FOLLOWING DRAW?
LOTTO MAX tickets go on sale on the Saturday morning following each Friday night draw.
Draws are held weekly on Friday night with tickets sold up until 10.30 p.m. EST on draw nights.
On each draw date, the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation (ILC) will cause (via ball drop) seven main numbers and one Bonus number to be drawn at random from among all numbers from 1 to 49.
In addition, the ILC will use a random number generator to draw seven additional winning numbers for each of the MAXMILLIONS prizes when those additional prizes are offered.
8. HOW BIG WILL THE LOTTO MAX JACKPOTS BE AND HOW OFTEN?
LOTTO MAX Jackpots begin at $10 million and grow to $60 $70 million until somebody wins.
If the Jackpot reaches $50 million, LOTTO MAX will offer additional MAXMILLIONS Draws of $1 million each.
Maybe MUSL will copy Lotto Max and say their MM "$3 jackpot only" option as has odds of 150 million to 1. About a quarter of the way down the "how to play" Lotto Max page it suggests group play, "pool your funds with co-workers". Had to chuckle because pooling didn't work out very well for another BC group of co-workers.
Be nice if MUSL had a jackpot game that capped the top prize and rolled the excess when the jackpot isn't won. Doubt that will every happen because it's obvious players want $1/2 billion plus jackpots regardless of their slim and none chances of winning.
I found the following story at Lottery post.com/news/245940 "Lottery winner recounts harassment after claiming prize."
Craig Henshaw won $21.4 million Canadian on 9 - 27 - 2011
The Star ran this story. 5/08/2012
Your life will change after winning.
Do you have a follow-up story or should we assume Hemshaw is still in hiding?
I play the lotto max, it is costly, and the odd's are way too high! But i give it a try weekly, hoping to win, a good prize with it!
You do realize that website is just some hobbyist's personal website, right? It is not official by any stretch.
No follow-up story. Craig Hemshaw may have learned his lessons about publicity after experiencing the need and greed of others. It is so easy to go public and do the interview and photo shoot. Effort is required to be safe.
Canadian winners cannot claim anonymously. That is what I learned so far.
You would think that after that boy in Australia was kidnapped and murdered the Canadian lottery would grant anonymity if chosen by they winner/s. Britain does. How many deaths will it take to change minds?
I was looking in general and those quotes I provided were from 3 different websites. I was not on an official fact finding mission. More out of curiosity on why a lottery ticket costs $5 each. Then how the odds went up that no website article I viewed explained until Lottobux passed along the new odds numbers.