Lotto Max
Canada’s Lotto Max is drawn every Tuesday and Friday night, with ticket holders attempting to match the seven main balls drawn from a possible 50 in order to win the jackpot, which begins at CA$10 million. There is also a Bonus Ball drawn, which boosts the value of certain prizes if it is matched. For each CA$5 play, ticket holders choose one line of numbers and receive another two that are randomly generated.
Lotto Max Jackpot Cap and MAXMILLIONS
When the Lotto Max jackpot reaches CA$50 million, the MAXMILLIONS game becomes active, offering a number of additional draws each with a CA$1 million top prize. Everyone who entered the main game has a chance to win on MAXMILLIONS, using their original Lotto Max numbers.
The minimum number of MAXMILLIONS draws is set by lottery officials, rising each time the Lotto Max jackpot is not won in a draw. The jackpot is capped by lottery officials at an amount worth between CA$50 million and CA$70 million. After that, every additional CA$1 million that would have been added to the Lotto Max jackpot total through ticket sales is instead used to fund another MAXMILLIONS draw. Any MAXMILLIONS prize that isn’t won is redrawn the next week, along with additional games funded by ticket sales until someone wins Lotto Max, after which the MAXMILLIONS prizes that aren’t matched are added to the next week’s base Lotto Max jackpot of CA$10 million.
Lotto Max Odds and Prizes
The following table shows how to win Lotto Max prizes and the odds of winning in each category:
| Match | Prize Pool | Odds |
| 7 main balls | Jackpot (87.25% of prize pool) | 1 : 33,294,800 |
| 6 main balls and the bonus | 2.50% of prize pool | 1 : 4,756,400 |
| 6 main balls | 2.50% of prize pool | 1 : 113,248 |
| 5 main balls and the bonus | 1.50% of prize pool | 1 : 37,749 |
| 5 main balls | 3.50% of prize pool | 1 : 1,841 |
| 4 main balls and the bonus | 2.75% of prize pool | 1 : 1,105 |
| 4 main balls | CAD $20 | 1 : 82.9 |
| 3 main balls and the bonus | CAD $20 | 1 : 82.9 |
| 3 main balls | Free Play | 1 : 8.5 |
Your overall odds of winning a prize on Lotto Max are 1 in 7.0.
Other Ways to Win with Lotto Max
Each of the five regional lottery corporations in Canada offers additional games, which allow for players to win further prizes by spending an extra CA$1 when playing Lotto Max. Ontario offers Encore with a top prize of CA$1 million, with Quebec’s Extra game offering yet another CA$1 million prize. British Columbia also has a draw called Extra with a possible windfall of CA$500,000, whereas the game of the same name in Western Canada could net you CA$250,000. Atlantic Canada has two additional draws, Tag and Twist, with potential winnings of CA$100,000 and CA$107,000 respectively.
