At a cost of CAD$3 per entry, Canada Lotto 6/49 players select six numbers from 1 to 49. Up to ten separate lines per ticket can be purchased in most provinces, although players in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut (provinces in the Western Lottery Corporation) are allowed no more than six lines per ticket.
In the Classic Draw, there is a jackpot of CAD$5 million. To win the jackpot, a player must match all six main numbers drawn, although there are six other tiers of prizes available for those who match at least two main numbers. A seventh bonus ball is also drawn to boost the prize values for players who match two or five main numbers.
The three prize levels below the jackpot are pari-mutuel, meaning cash amounts will vary according to the number of tickets sold and the number of prize winners in that tier. Here are the prize categories and odds of winning.
Lotto 6/49 Odds
Numbers Matched |
Odds of Winning |
Match 6 |
1 in 13,983,816 |
Match 5 plus Bonus |
1 in 2,330,636 |
Match 5 |
1 in 55,492 |
Match 4 |
1 in 1,033 |
Match 3 |
1 in 57 |
Match 2 plus Bonus |
1 in 81 |
Match 2 |
1 in 6.6 |
Gold Ball Jackpot
In addition to the main draw, tickets are also entered into a guaranteed prize draw raffle, known as the Gold Ball Jackpot.
Each line of numbers purchased is allocated a ten-digit, randomly generated number at no extra cost to the player and the ticket which matches the raffle number drawn wins at least CAD$1 million.
It could be even more, as the special Gold Ball draw then takes place to determine whether the winner will receive a prize worth at least CAD$10 million. If the Gold Ball is selected in this feature, the jackpot is paid out. If the Gold Ball is not selected, the winner receives CAD$1 million and the jackpot rolls over. There are 29 non-gold balls also in the draw at the start, but as time goes on the odds of winning the jackpot improve while the top prize grows. It can even get up to more than CAD$60 million.
Canada Lotto 6/49 prizes can be claimed up to one year from the date of the draw.
The biggest Canadian Lottery 6/49 jackpot was worth CAD$63,413,885 and shared between four tickets in April 2013. The rules changed in September 2022 to fix the jackpot at CA$5 million, with the Gold Ball feature offering a rolling prize instead.
