Lotto Max odds are about to change in Canada

The Lotto Max jackpot has reached its highest level in more than a month after no one won the top prize in Friday’s draw.

Tuesday’s draw now features a $75 million jackpot along with an estimated 12 $1 million maxmillion prizes, according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

It’s the biggest Lotto Max jackpot since March 3, when a $75 million prize was won by a ticket that was sold in Toronto.

With excitement building as the jackpot grows, it’s also worth noting the next two draws (Tuesday and Friday) will be the last before various changes take effect for the national lottery game.

READ MORE: 2 come forward to claim $80 million lottery jackpot in Ontario

Among them: odds will be changing.

Chances of winning the jackpot will get worse, but your odds of winning any prize will actually increase.

It will also cost more to buy a ticket, there will be a bigger range of numbers, the jackpot cap will be increasing, there will be new $100,000 prizes per draw, and more lines per play.

READ MORE: Toronto among multiple cities with lottery wins in latest draw

The changes were first announced last year and they take effect with the April 14 draw. That means following Friday’s draw, if you buy a Lotto Max ticket, you will be purchasing a ticket for the new game mode.

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.

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 33,294,800 chance per play, or approximately one in 99,884,400 per line, the OLG says.

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