Whereas the United States prides itself is catchy slogans like “Odds are you’ll have fun” to attract new players, the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation of Canada – owned by The Atlantic Lottery Corporation, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Loto-Quebec, and Western Canada Lottery Corporation — has embraced the K.I.S.S. method since its inception back in 1976. But what does this mean for your chances of winning the lottery?
The ILC operates and manages three regular Canadian lotteries known as Daily Grand, Lotto 6/49, and Lotto Max. Only two games have been retired over the past four decades, those being Lotto Super 7 and The Provincial. Across the country, Celebration and Millionaire Life are special event lotteries, and promotional lotteries are held occasionally, too.
Just like any draw game, like Keno, the odds of winning the Canadian lottery are extremely low, but as they say, somebody has to win — might as well be you!
What Are The Odds Of Winning The Lottery?
| Lottery | Odds of Winning | Top Winning Prize |
| Daily Grand | 1 in 13,348,188 | $1,000 a day for life or $7 million lump sum |
| 6/49 | 1 in 13,983,816 | Jackpot win or 79.5% of the pool |
| Lotto Max | 3 in 99,884,400 | Jackpot win or share of 87.25% of the pool |
No matter which province you live in, your odds of winning one of the big three lotteries are the same. So no, moving to a smaller province won’t help you win that easy million.
The odds to win the Daily Grand lottery, where you choose five of 49 unique numbers plus a “Grand Number” 1-7 – are slightly
Manual lottery number selection? You’ll be hard-pressed to find these in modern Canadian lotteries.
better than the 6/49 lottery. In 6/49, you pick six numbers 1-49 to win a jackpot of at least $5-million plus a shot at another six-figure payout should your bonus number hit. What’s interesting about 6/49 is that up until May 2019, Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max numbers were unveiled using a classic lottery machine with ping-pong balls.
Today, these two Canadian lottery numbers are using random number generators, which can also be found in online casino slots and blackjack games software.
Lotto Max, which replaced Lotto Super 7, has players select seven numbers from 1-50. While the percent chance of matching all seven numbers is slim, the main jackpot starts at $10-million is capped at $70-million. Once it reaches $50-million, additional $1-million MaxMillions are also drawn.
Can You Increase Your Chances of Winning The Lottery?
No matter which province you live in, the biggest odds of winning a Canadian national lottery remain the same. However, some who have won the lottery multiple times do believe you can help your chances by simply buying more tickets and/or investing your lottery ticket wagers in a pool syndicate at the office or neighborhood. Granted, you’ll have to split the jackpot winnings, but strength in numbers does apply in this instance.
Some other lottery tips include never selecting auto-pick, spreading out your numbers, and not limiting yourself to birthdays and anniversaries as those will limit your number field to 1-31 rather than 46, 50, etc.
What’s the Biggest Lotto Max Payout? Â
Adlin Lewis of Brampton, Ontario won the record-breaking $70-million Lotto Max jackpot back in January of 2020, biggest lottery prize in Canadian history.
Which Province Buys the Most Lottery Tickets?
According to Statista, Ontario buys the most lottery tickets and by a wide margin over second-ranked province, Quebec.
| Province | Lottery Sales in 2020 (in millions of CAD) |
| Â Ontario | 4,107.82 |
| Â Quebec | 1,782.90 |
| Â British Columbia | 1,280.36 |
| Â Alberta | 917.89 |
| Â Newfoundland and Labrador | 387.81 |
| Â Nova Scotia | 371.85 |
| Â New Brunswick | 330.62 |
| Â Manitoba | 240.97 |
| Â Saskatchewan | 210.24 |
| Â Prince Edward Island | 74.8 |
Ontario gamers spent more than $4.1-billion dollars on lottery tickets during 2020. Quebec and British Columbia are the only two provinces to spend more than $1-billion on lottery tickets during the same timeframe. The other seven provinces averaged about $330-million in lottery ticket sales during the pandemic-impacted year.
Overall, your odds of winning the lottery don’t differ drastically from province to province, however, you might fare just slightly better playing the Daily Grand compared to other lotteries. If you plan to play the lottery, remember to play for fun — a win is never guaranteed.
