Lotto Max

Lotto Max is a Canadian lottery game coordinated by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, as one of the country's three national lottery games. Introduced on September 19, 2009, with its first draw occurring on September 25, 2009, the game replaced Lotto Super 7. Lotto Max drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday.

Lotto Max logo

Lotto Max is played similarly to its predecessor, with players selecting seven numbers from a field of 50[1] (originally 49[2]). A single board costs $5, and each purchased board also includes two additional quick picks. The main drawing features a jackpot prize starting at CDN$10 million. After the jackpot reaches at least $50 million, additional drawings are held for auxiliary "MaxMillions" prizes of $1 million each; the main jackpot is capped at $70 million. MaxMillions prizes are carried over until they are won, and additional MaxMillions prizes are added for each week a main jackpot of at least $50 million is not won. Once a jackpot is won, unclaimed MaxMillions prizes, if any, are placed in the main jackpot on top of the $10 million minimum. As with all Canadian lottery jackpot games, winners receive their prize in a tax-free lump sum.

The launch of Lotto Max was successful, attracting higher revenue in its first 10 months of operation than Super 7 did in its best year of sales. A representative of OLG attributed Lotto Max's popularity to the size of its total prize pools (which approach the larger jackpots seen in U.S. lotteries), and the perception of consumers that the MaxMillions system increased the probability that they could win a major prize.[3][4] In May 2019, the game introduced major changes, including adding a Tuesday drawing, a larger jackpot cap, a 50-number field, and two additional prize tiers.

Organization

The Lotto Max game is administered by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, a consortium of the five regional lottery corporations in Canada.

Each of these corporations operate a regional add-on games that, for an extra $1 each, can be added to a Lotto Max ticket. This "spiel" game (named "Tag", "Encore" or "Extra" depending on the region), adds a 6- or 7-digit number to the ticket with a top prize of $100,000 if all six digits are matched or $250,000 to $1,000,000 depending on the region for a seven-number match ($1,000,000 in Ontario and Quebec; $250,000 in the Western Canada region of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the territories).

Similarly to Lotto 6/49, Loto-Québec and the Western Canada Lottery Corporation also run local versions of Lotto Max, known as Québec Max and Western Max respectively. These draws are held on the same night as each Lotto Max draw and have similar payouts, but with a fixed jackpot of $2,000,000, and additional drawings for a pool of 7 (Quebec) or 10 (Western) $1,000,000 prizes on each draw, similarly to MaxMillions. Lotto Max selection slips offer the ability for players to choose between Lotto Max, the regional game, or to play both games using the same numbers.

Loto-Québec is the only region out of all five regions allowing players to select all 3 lines for a $5.00 play instead of the 2nd and 3rd mandatory computer generated combinations.

Prize structure
MatchPrizeChance of winning on a $5 play[5]
7/7 Jackpot win or share of 87.25% of pool's fund3 in 99,884,400
6/7 + bonus number Share of 2.5% of pool's fund1 in 4,756,400
6/7 Share of 2.5% of pool's fund1 in 113,248
5/7 + bonus number Share of 1.5% of pool's fund 1 in 37,749
5/7 Share of 3.5% of pool's fund1 in 1,841
4/7 + bonus number Share of 2.75% of pool's fund 1 in 1,105
4/7 $20.001 in 82.9
3/7 + bonus number $20.001 in 82.9
3/7 Free play1 in 8.5
MaxMillions (7 of 7) (exact match only) Win or share $1 million each set drawn3 in 99,884,400

Changes

The main jackpot was initially capped at $50 million. The July 17, 2015 draw increased this cap to $60 million.[3]

In November 2018, the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation announced changes to Lotto Max that began with the May 14, 2019 draw. The field of numbers increased to 50 (changing the odds of a jackpot win to 1 in 33 million), the main jackpot cap was increased to $70 million, new prizes were added for matching 4 or 5 numbers and the bonus number, and the game added a second weekly draw on Tuesdays. Organizers stated these changes would help Lotto Max reach higher jackpots more often.[6][7]

Since May 14, 2019, Lotto Max has used a random number generator for draws rather than lottery machines.[8]

Largest draws

Main prize

The July 17, 2015 drawing was the first held under new rules allowing the main jackpot to exceed $50 million.[3] The $55 million prize was won by a group of 20 employees of a Rona store in Quebec. At the time, it was the second-largest lottery jackpot in Canadian history, behind a $63.4 million Lotto 6/49 drawing in 2013.[9][10] The first ever Lotto Max drawing for $60 million occurred on September 25, 2015, with a single winning ticket sold in Brampton.[11][12]

The first ever Lotto Max drawing for $65 million occurred on June 11, 2019, with a single winning ticket in Montreal.[13]

After a $65 million drawing on December 31, 2019 went without a winner, the first drawing for $70 million occurred on January 3, 2020.[14]

Prize pool

The July 6, 2012 drawing was the first to offer a major prize pool (for matching all 7 numbers exactly) of $100 million, with a $50 million jackpot and 50 of the $1 million MaxMillions prizes.[15] Three consecutive weeks of rollovers fuelled the large payout, which marked the largest Lotto Max drawing under the previous caps.[16] This combination of a $50 million jackpot and 50 of the $1 million MaxMillions prizes, totalling $100 million in main prizes, has been replicated on other occasions, including June 2015.[17]

With the increase of the main jackpot's cap to $60 million, a new record was established on the August 12, 2016 draw with a $60 million jackpot and 42 MaxMillions prizes, totalling $102 million in main prizes.[18] The jackpot had rolled over for eight consecutive weeks, fuelling the new prize pool record.[18] This record was repeated on the January 6, 2017 draw.[19]

After a June 8, 2018 draw with a record of 50 MaxMillions prizes, the record was surpassed again in October 2018, where the October 26 draw featured 55 MaxMillions prizes, totalling $115 million in prizes.[20][21] A winning ticket was sold in Edmonton.[22]

References
  1. "LOTTO MAX ENTERS NEW ERA: RECORD JACKPOTS OF UP TO $70M AND DRAWS TWICE A WEEK". Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  2. "OLG - LOTTO MAX". Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. Archived from the original on 2009-09-22.
  3. "LOTTO MAX NEW $60M JACKPOT CAP" (PDF). BCLC. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  4. "Lotto Max more popular than Super 7". CBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  5. "WCLC LOTTO MAX". Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  6. "LOTTO MAX Changes Coming May 2019" (Press release). OLG. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  7. "Lotto Max jackpot jumps to $70M, adds another weekly draw day". Global News. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  8. "Atlantic Lottery is retiring its balls that pick the winners". CBC News. 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  9. "4 winning tickets sold for $63.4M lotto jackpot". CBC News. The Canadian Press. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  10. "20 Rona employees in Quebec share $55-million jackpot". Canadian Press. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  11. "Largest Lotto Max jackpot in Canadian history up for grabs". CBC Calgary. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  12. "One winning ticket was sold in Ontario". CTV News. Bell Media. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  13. "Montreal family won $65 million Lotto Max jackpot". CTV News. Bell Media. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  14. "Lotto Max to hit a record $70 million in next draw". Montreal. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  15. Austin, Ian (2012-07-06). "Largest prize total in Lotto Max history to be drawn Friday". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  16. "Winning ticket for $50M Lotto Max jackpot sold in Quebec". CBC News. 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  17. Passifiume, Bryan (2015-06-06). "Calgary Takes Home Share of Record $100 Million". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  18. Slattery, Jill (2016-08-12). "Lotto Max Jackpot could Handout Over $100 Million". Global News. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  19. "1 winner for $60 million Lotto Max jackpot, 22 tickets win Maxmillions". Global News. Canadian Press. 2017-01-07. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  20. "No winning ticket sold for $60 million Lotto Max jackpot". CP24. 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  21. "No winning ticket for Friday night's $60 million Lotto Max jackpot". CTV News. 2018-05-26. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  22. "Winning $60M Lotto Max ticket sold in Edmonton unclaimed 2 weeks later". Global News. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
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