Lotto Max: Rules, Price & Odds

Whenever we talk about the topic of gambling we think of casinos and slots. But there is another form of gambling that has been going on for quite a long time. And that is lotteries. Many countries have their own national lotteries. Canada is one such country. For Canadians, OLG is the official lottery platform. They feature a few games that you can enjoy. Today we’re going to make a guide on Lotto Max, their most popular lottery, and take a look at the different aspects to try and understand it better.

How to Play Lotto Max

Lotteries are basically number-based draw games. The objective of any lottery game is to pick out some numbers that may have a chance of getting drawn. The more numbers you manage to get right, the bigger the prize you get.

Unlike traditional lotteries, you don’t have all the numbers on a Lotto Max ticket. You select the numbers from a selection sheet. The numbers you choose will be printed on the ticket. You can choose a maximum of 7 numbers from 50 numbers per line.

You can get 3 lines for a single ticket in Lotto Max. The 3 lines will have 7 numbers each. You can play for fewer lines as well if you’d like. But for a single ticket, you can choose numbers for 3 lines. There are basically 3 ways you can enjoy Lotto Max. You can buy the ticket from any official retailer. You can also use the official app to purchase your tickets. And lastly, you can visit their website to get your ticket.

If you choose to get the tickets from the retailer, they will hand you a selection sheet. You can choose any 7 numbers from 1 to 50 here. Once you’re done you will get your printed ticket with it a barcode. This will allow you to check whether you’ve won or not.

And with that, you should be done. You only need to visit the retailer if you want to check your results. But you can do the same thing from your home. If you want to make the purchase online, you can simply visit the OLG.ca site to get your tickets or visit any authorized lottery casino to make your purchase. You can do the same from the official OLG app.

There are other games that OLG offers. There’s Lotto 6/49, Daily Keno, Ontario 49. These games have slightly reduced prizes. But the smaller prizes mean the odds are a bit better. So they are also worth checking out. If you don’t think choosing the numbers works out for you, you can always choose randomly. You can ask the retailer for an "Auto Pick" or do the same when you purchase online. These will randomly generate your numbers.

Rules of Lotto Max

It’s not as if rules only apply to Lotto Max. No matter where you are in the world, or which lottery you’re taking part in, there will always be rules. Rules help to bring variation to specific games. It also makes things interesting. Let’s take a quick look at the rules of Lotto Max to get you started on the path to winning some real money.

Odds to Win the Prizes

There is one thing you need to understand when it comes to lotteries. And that is odds. You need the same for games like the best online bingo. Understanding the odds won’t increase your chances of winning. But it allows you to understand how the game works and what you can expect. You can get 9 stages of rewards for Lotto Max. This is more in comparison to other lotteries out there. So let’s take a look at the odds for Lotto Max

• All 7 main numbers have odds of 1 in 33,294,800.
• 6 main numbers along with 1 additional number have odds of 1 in 4,756,400.
• 6 main numbers only have odds of 1 in 113,248.
• 5 main numbers along with 1 additional number only have odds of 1 in 37,749.
• 5 main numbers only odds of 1 in 1,841.
• 4 main numbers along with 1 additional number only have odds of 1 in 1,105.
• 4 main numbers only odds of 1 in 82.9.
• 3 main numbers along with 1 additional number only have odds of 1 in 82.9.
• 3 main numbers only odds of 1 in 8.5.

Price of Lotto Max Tickets

The first thing you need to do to start your lottery journey is to buy a ticket. Otherwise, you don’t even have a chance at winning. The selection sheet will have many boards. For 3 lines of numbers, you will have to pay C$5. The 3 lines signify 3 chances to win the jackpot. If you want more lines you’ll need to get another ticket for C$5 more.

For the 7 numbers you choose, the selections that will match the numbers drawn will determine your prize. There’s a bonus number also. Matching that will also get you some prizes. Depending on how many you get correct, you will get your prizes. You will notice another option on the ticket. It’s the "Encore" option. This is a kind of special game. You can select to participate in this and it will cost you an additional C$1. It gives you the chance to participate in Maxmillions, which is another type of lottery from OLG.

Lotto Max Jackpot

The jackpot is always the main attraction of any lotto. For Lotto Max, you don’t have a fixed jackpot. Because there is a rollover system, the jackpot can fluctuate and can go up to C$70,000,000! As for other prizes they are a percentage of the prize fund.

Hitting the jackpot will get you 100% of the prize fund. For matching 6 numbers, each winner gets 2.5% of the fund. Getting 5 out of 7 numbers right gets you 3.5% of the funds. If you manage to get 4 numbers right you get C$20. And for getting 3 numbers right you get a C$5 free play.

Getting the bonus number right will also get you rewards as well. They will never be as much as matching the main numbers. But they aren’t half bad. If you manage to win at Encore, you will get the chance to win 1,000,000. And the best part? It can be any Maxmillions draw. That gives you more chances of winning the million dollars.

Biggest Win Made

We’ve already talked about this, but the most money you can win out of Lotto Max is 70 million dollars. And the odds of it are pretty high. But has anyone actually managed to do it? You’ll be pleased to know that there is someone who has beaten these odds and hit the jackpot in Canada.

Dale McEwen purchased his lottery ticket from a Co-op gas station in Alta. When he made the purchase he never thought he’d win anything much less the jackpot. But he was quite literally shocked when he found out he’d won the jackpot of 70 million dollars! 

Results of Lotto Max

To inform players of whether they’ve won or not, there are 2 draws weekly. One takes place on Friday and the other takes place on Tuesday. The ticket sale window closes at the last minute. So best grab your ticket before that. The draw starts at exactly 10:30 PM. It’s done within 10 minutes. And the sales for the next ticket open up at 10:40 PM. You can check the results by visiting a retailer or using the OLG app to scan the barcode and find out yourself. You can also visit their website where the results are updated within a couple of minutes of the draw.

How to Claim Lotto Max Prizes

If you’ve managed to win up to C$999, you can claim it from the local retailer where you bought the ticket. If you’ve won more than a C$1000, the process will vary a bit If the amount you’ve won is between C$1000 and C$49,999 you have to make a claim online, or via mail. You can also collect this prize by making an appointment and collecting it directly from the prize centre.

For winnings more than C$50,000, you need to contact the OLG Support Centre at 1-800-387-0098 and start the process of claiming your prize. It usually takes a couple of days. Also, keep in mind, that you must claim any and all prizes within 1 year of winning. Otherwise, you’ll lose it forever.

Taxes of These Prizes

The best thing about playing the lottery in Canada is that there are no taxes on winnings. You literally don’t have to pay a penny for any amount that you win. The reason is that lottery winnings are not considered taxable by the Canadian government. Even if you’re an international resident, you still don’t need to pay any taxes at all. To put it simply, you don’t need to worry about losing any of your lottery winnings after you’ve claimed it.

Our Opinion on Lotto Max

Out of the many lottery games that Canada offers, Lotto Max is no doubt the best one. The potential to win up to 70 million dollars for a small price of C$5 makes it all the more exciting. Even if you’re someone who doesn’t do lotteries, it’s still worth a try at least once.

Lotto Max FAQs

For any further questions that you may have regarding the lottery, you can consult this section right here.