Lotto 6/49: Why It’s Canada’s Best Lottery Game

According to Statistics Canada, about 50% of Canadian adults play the lottery at least once each year. The first government-run lottery was held in the country over a century ago, and playing the lottery has been popular pretty much ever since. Today, some people prefer playing the Lotto Max lottery, while others opt to play the Daily Grand lottery. But it’s the Lotto 6/49 lottery that is ultimately considered the best lottery game of the bunch in Canada. So, what is it that gives Lotto 6/49 an edge over the other lotto games? Keep reading to find out and look for tips to improve your chances of winning Lotto 6/49 along the way.

Lotto 6/49 has been keeping Canadian lottery players on the edges of their seats for decades. It was first introduced in June 1982, and right from the start, it managed to differentiate itself from the other nationwide Canadian lottery games like the Olympic Lottery and Lotto Canada that came before it. The thing that separated Lotto 6/49 from the pack was that it enabled Canadian lottery players to pick their own numbers. Prior to the introduction of this lottery game, they were forced to use whichever pre-printed numbers came on their tickets when they bought them. It wasn’t long before the success of Lotto 6/49 forced organizers to phase out these types of lotteries and allow Canadians to choose their own numbers every time they played the lottery. Over the last 40-plus years, Lotto 6/49 has established itself as Canada’s lottery of choice time and time again by providing the biggest jackpots in the country’s history. This includes everything from a $26.4 million drawing that took place in September 1995 to a record-breaking $68 million drawing that occurred in September 2023.

The simplicity of the Lotto 6/49 lottery is just one of many reasons why most Canadians consider it the best lottery game in the country. Here are several other reasons for its popularity among Canadian lottery players:

• Tickets for the Lotto 6/49 lottery are sold nationwide, which makes it accessible to Canadians all across the country.
• A Lotto 6/49 lottery ticket costs just $3, making it a very affordable lottery game for everyone regardless of budget.
• Lotto 6/49 offers Canadians the opportunity to win a variety of jackpots in addition to a slew of secondary prizes.

When Lotto 6/49’s Gold Ball Jackpot grows, the lottery also begins to build up a lot of buzz throughout Canada. Everyone gets so excited to snatch up tickets to give themselves a chance to win life-changing money.

Most of the largest jackpots in Canadian lottery history were awarded after Lotto 6/49 drawings. These are the biggest Lotto 6/49 jackpots in recent memory:

• A $64 million jackpot in October 2015
• A $63.4 million jackpot in April 2013
• A $54.3 million jackpot in October 2005
• A $48 million jackpot in February 2023
• A $40 million jackpot in November 2013

Since changes were made to the Lotto 6/49 lottery to provide Canadians with the chance to win two jackpots on every ticket, it has created more millionaires than ever before. The Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, the organization that runs the Lotto 6/49 lottery, celebrated six new millionaires in just six months in early 2023.

The Lotto 6/49 lottery might be the best Canadian lottery at the moment, but it isn’t the only nationwide lottery in the country. Check out how the Lotto 6/49 lottery stacks up against these other nationwide lotteries.

One of the reasons why the Lotto 6/49 lottery has turned into the best lottery game in Canada is because it’s simple to play. Whether you’re an avid Canadian lottery player or someone who only occasionally buys a lottery ticket, it won’t take long to learn how to play.

When you buy a Lotto 6/49 ticket, you’ll get to select six numbers between 1 and 49. You’ll also be assigned a computer-generated 10-digit number for the Gold Ball Draw Number. From there, you’ll have the chance to win one of two jackpots. This includes both the $5 million Classic Jackpot and the Gold Ball Jackpot that grows over time (and is worth at least $10 million).

To win the $5 million Classic Jackpot when playing the Lotto 6/49 lottery, you’ll need to match all six of the numbers on your ticket. You can also win smaller prizes for matching 2, 3, 4, or 5 numbers along with the bonus number. To win the Gold Ball Jackpot, you’ll need to match your 10-digit Gold Ball Draw number with the Gold Ball Draw number that is drawn.

Your odds of winning the $5 million Classic Jackpot while playing the Lotto 6/49 lottery is 1 in 13,983,816. Your odds of winning the Gold Ball Jackpot, meanwhile, vary from one drawing to the next based on how many Gold Ball Draw Numbers are issued.