Huge Lotto Max changes take effect soon in Canada

Lotto Max will see some big changes is about one month in Canada.

The national lottery game will see a price increase, a bigger range of numbers, and worse odds of winning the jackpot.

However, the jackpot cap will be increasing, there will be new $100,000 prizes per draw, and more lines per play.

READ MORE: $44 million lottery jackpot won in Canada

And while the jackpot odds will get worse, your odds of winning any prize will actually increase.

The changes were first announced last year and they take effect with the April 14 draw.

Here’s a look at what lottery players can expect, according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation:

Price increase

The price for a ticket will be going up.

It will cost $6 per play, up from the current price of $5.

It will be the first price increase for Lotto Max since the game began in 2009, a spokesperson for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation previously told INsauga.com.

READ MORE: Man wins lottery for the third time in Ontario

Bigger jackpot cap

The jackpot cap will be increasing to $90 million from $80 million, marking a new record for a Canadian lottery, the OLG said.

In 2024, the jackpot cap was increased to $80 million from $70 million.

At the end of December, an $80 million jackpot was won by a ticket sold in London, Ontario.

It was the second time ever that an $80 million Lotto Max jackpot has been won by a single ticket. It was the first time that happened in Ontario.

We still have not yet learned who the winner or winners were of that prize.

Multiple $100,000 prizes per draw

Draws will have $100,000 prizes up for grabs based on the jackpot amount.

There will be multiple $100,000 “Maxplus” prizes offered for each draw, with the specific number depending on the jackpot size.

“For example, when the jackpot is $10 million, 10 additional $100,000 prizes will be drawn, and so on, up to 90 additional $100,000 prizes when the jackpot hits $90 million,” the OLG said.

“That’s on top of the growing maxmillions prizing that may be available.”

Maxmillion prizes are additional $1 million prizes that start to be offered once the jackpot hits $50 million.

More lines per play

Currently, each $5 Lotto Max play comes with three lines of seven numbers.

But that will increase to four lines of seven numbers per $6 play.

Bigger range of numbers

Although players will get an additional line, there will be a larger set of numbers that can be chosen.

Selections will be able to include seven numbers from one to 52, inclusive.

Currently, the range is from one to 50, inclusive.

Worse jackpot odds, but better chance of winning any prize

The new Lotto Max will make it harder for players to win the jackpot.

Right now, there’s an approximate one in 99,884,400 chance of getting seven out of seven numbers per line, or approximately one in 33,294,800 per play, the OLG says.

Come April 14, it will change to approximately one in 133,784,560 per line, or one in 33,446,140 per play, the OLG says.

Despite that, the overall odds of winning any prize will improve.

Currently, players have an approximate one in 20.9 chance of winning any prize per line. That works out to one in seven per play.

The new Lotto Max will have an approximate one in 23.3 chance of winning any prize per line, but a one in 5.8 chance per play, given that players will get four lines instead of three.

For more information, visit the OLG’s website.