Official odds per play · Lotto Max 2026 format
🧮 Lotto Odds Calculator for Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49
This lotto odds calculator turns the official Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 odds into your odds. Tell it how you play and it shows your real chances for every prize tier over a year, what that year costs, and comparisons that make 1 in 33 million feel like a real number.
Plays per year
104
Cost per year
$624
Chance of the jackpot this year
1 in 321,598
| Prize tier | Prize | Odds per play | Chance in a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 of 7 | Jackpot: win or share $10 million to $90 million | 1 in 33,446,140 | 0.0003% |
| 6 of 7 + bonus | Share of 18.50% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 4,778,020 | 0.0022% |
| 6 of 7 | Share of 18.85% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 108,591 | 0.0957% |
| 5 of 7 + bonus | Share of 12.25% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 36,197 | 0.3% |
| 5 of 7 | Share of 27.50% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 1,684 | 6.0% |
| 4 of 7 + bonus | Share of 22.90% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 1,010 | 9.8% |
| 4 of 7 | $20 | 1 in 72.2 | 76.6% |
| 3 of 7 + bonus | $20 | 1 in 72.2 | 76.6% |
| 3 of 7 | Free Play | 1 in 7.0 | over 99.9% |
- 🗓️ At this rate you would expect to wait about 321,598 years for one jackpot win on average.
- 🪙 One play hitting the jackpot is about as likely as calling 25 coin flips in a row correctly.
- 💵 Over a year you spend $624; any prize at all comes about once every 5.8 plays, and most of those are a Free Play.
How these odds are worked out
Lottery odds come from counting. In Lotto 6/49 there are 13,983,816 different ways to choose 6 numbers from 49, and only one of them matches the draw, so a single line has a 1 in 13,983,816 chance at the Classic jackpot. In today's Lotto Max there are 133,784,560 ways to choose 7 numbers from 52; a $6 play gives you four selections, which is why the official odds of the jackpot are 1 in 33,446,140 per play. Lower tiers have many more winning combinations, so their odds are far shorter. The figures in the table are the official odds per play published with the prize tables by the Western Canada Lottery Corporation.
The yearly numbers use simple probability. If one play has a chance p of winning a tier, then n independent plays have a chance of 1 − (1 − p)n of winning it at least once. For rare prizes that is almost exactly n × p: doubling your spend doubles your chance, but double a tiny number is still tiny. Buying 104 Lotto Max plays a year — one at every draw — gives about a 1 in 322,000 chance of a jackpot that year.
What the calculator leaves out
It shows chances, not expected winnings. Most Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 prizes are shares of a pool, so the amount depends on ticket sales and on how many people match. It also ignores MaxMillions, MaxPlus, Gold Ball and Extra or Encore add-ons, which have their own rules; see our Lotto Max guide, Gold Ball guide and Extra and Encore guide. And no pattern, frequency chart or "system" changes any number in the table. Every combination, including 1-2-3-4-5-6, has exactly the same chance. Choosing unusual numbers only changes how many people you might share a jackpot with.
If the cost-per-year line makes you wince, that is useful information. Set a budget you would happily spend on any other entertainment, and see our responsible play page for free, confidential help lines in every province. The full derivation of the jackpot odds is in our Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 odds guide.
Lotto odds questions
What are the odds of winning the Lotto Max jackpot?
The official odds are 1 in 33,446,140 per $6 play. A play is four selections of seven numbers from 1 to 52; a single selection has 1 chance in 133,784,560. The odds of winning any Lotto Max prize are about 1 in 5.8 per play.
What are the odds of winning Lotto 6/49?
Matching all six Classic Draw numbers is 1 in 13,983,816 per $3 play, and any prize is about 1 in 6.6. The Gold Ball draw is separate: one ticket number always wins, and its jackpot odds depend on how many balls are left in the drum.
Which is easier to win, Lotto Max or Lotto 6/49?
Per play, the Lotto 6/49 jackpot (1 in 13,983,816) is about 2.4 times easier than the Lotto Max jackpot (1 in 33,446,140), and per dollar spent it is about 4.8 times easier, because a 6/49 play costs $3 and a Lotto Max play costs $6. The trade-off is size: the 6/49 Classic jackpot is a fixed $5 million, while Lotto Max runs from $10 million to $90 million.
Does buying more tickets improve my odds?
Yes, in direct proportion: ten plays give ten times the chance of one play. But ten times a tiny number is still tiny. One Lotto Max play at every draw for a year (104 plays) gives about a 1 in 322,000 chance of a jackpot that year, for $624.
Do hot numbers or patterns change the odds?
No. Every combination has exactly the same chance in every draw, whatever happened before. Unusual combinations can only reduce how many people you might share a jackpot with. See why hot and cold numbers do not predict the next draw.