Canadian lotteries: the regional corporations and the national games
Canada has national lottery games and no national lottery shop. Five regional corporations sell Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49, each in its own part of the country, and the ticket belongs to the region that sold it.
Five regions, one set of draws
The national games are run through the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, which the Western Canada Lottery Corporation describes on its about page as "incorporated and authorized to manage and conduct national lotteries." The selling is done by five regional corporations, and WCLC's own FAQ names all of them and the ground each covers.
| Lottery corporation | Where it sells |
|---|---|
| Western Canada Lottery Corporation | Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut as associate members |
| BCLC | British Columbia |
| OLG | Ontario |
| Loto-Québec | Quebec |
| Atlantic Lottery | Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island |
WCLC says it operates "as agent for its Members, the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba," and that its revenue goes back to the provinces and territories it sells for. Each corporation also sells regional games of its own alongside the national ones; WCLC's list includes Western Max and Western 649.
The regions matter more than people think. WCLC's FAQ explains that each one "maintains its own computer system and database of winning tickets," so a store in Calgary can't check a ticket bought in Toronto. To claim, you take it back to the region that sold it or mail it to the address on the back.
Lotto Max
These figures are from WCLC's Lotto Max page. A play costs $6 and gives you four selections of seven numbers from 1 to 52: one you can pick, and three the terminal picks for you. The draws are every Tuesday and Friday.
The jackpot starts at $10 million and stops at $90 million. Above $50 million the extra money goes into Maxmillions draws, prizes of $1 million each for an exact match of seven numbers on one line. The page also lists a $100,000 draw for every million in the jackpot.
| Match | Prize | Odds per $6 play |
|---|---|---|
| 7 of 7 | Jackpot, at least $10 million | 1 in 33,446,140 |
| 6 of 7 + bonus | Share of the pool | 1 in 4,778,020 |
| 4 of 7 | $20 | 1 in 72.2 |
| 3 of 7 | Free play | 1 in 7.0 |
The overall odds of winning anything are "approximately one in 5.8". The jackpot number checks out by plain counting: there are 133,784,560 ways to choose seven numbers from 52, and a $6 play covers four of them, so 133,784,560 divided by 4 is 33,446,140. On a single line it's the 133 million figure.
Lotto 6/49
The Lotto 6/49 page gives a $3 play: six numbers from 1 to 49 for the Classic Draw, plus an automatic entry into the Gold Ball Draw. The draws are every Wednesday and Saturday.
The Classic Draw jackpot is a fixed $5 million, and the odds of matching all six are 1 in 13,983,816 (49 choose 6, if you want to check). The Gold Ball Draw is the one that grows. It starts with 30 balls, 29 white and one gold, and picks one Gold Ball selection from all those sold for the draw. A white ball pays that selection $1 million. The gold ball pays the Gold Ball jackpot, which starts at $10 million and rises by $2 million a draw until it goes. White balls aren't put back, so the gold one gets more likely every draw it isn't drawn.
I like that Lotto 6/49 tells you its jackpot odds in a number you can hold in your head. At 1 in 14 million for $3, the Classic Draw's top prize is about 21 times easier to hit than the Powerball jackpot at 1 in 292 million. The prize is smaller and fixed, and that's the trade. Which you prefer says something about why you play.
Tax
Here Canada is simpler than the United States, and the government says so itself. The Canada Revenue Agency's page on amounts that are not reported or taxed lists "lottery winnings of any amount" among them, with exceptions where the prize counts as income from employment, a business or property, or is a prize for achievement. The same page says "Income earned on any of the above amounts is taxable", so the interest on a jackpot sitting in the bank goes on your return.
WCLC's FAQ puts it from the lottery's side: its cash and merchandise prizes "are tax-free within Canada," but "prizes with an annuity option may have tax implications if the annuity is selected." I'd read the CRA page and ask an accountant about anything large, and especially about an annuity.
A Canadian who wins an American lottery is in a different position, because the United States withholds on prizes paid to non-residents. The lottery taxes page covers the American side, and it's the place to start before you buy a ticket on a trip south.
Claims and publicity
WCLC tickets for Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 expire one year from the draw date, and the FAQ asks you to print your legal name on the back of a winning ticket. It also says that under its rules it "has no obligation to pay a prize unless the winner gives WCLC the right to publish the winner's name, city or town of residence and recent photograph." Other regions set their own terms. If staying out of the papers matters to you, I'd read your corporation's rules before you buy, not after you win.
The age, the online sales and the claim process are each region's to set too. OLG's site, for one, says it is for adults in Ontario and that lottery products are for those 18 and over, and WCLC refuses sales to anyone under 18. WCLC's FAQ mentions tickets bought online on PlayAlberta.ca in Alberta and on PlayNow in Manitoba. Check what yours offers.
WCLC's scam warning is one I'd take from any of them: "We do not charge taxes or service fees on any of our games." Anyone who asks for a fee before paying you a prize is not your lottery, and the lottery scams page has the signs. If the $6 tickets have started adding up, the responsible gambling page is where I'd look.