Bigger jackpots, but they're harder to win
By Kate Northrop
The multi-province Lotto Max game is getting an overhaul this spring, which will include a bigger jackpot cap, additional $100,000 prizes with every draw, and a ticket price increase.
Lotto Max, the multi-province draw game of Canadian lotteries, is set to deliver higher jackpots, additional prizes, and more lines per play, all at the cost of a ticket price increase and more difficult odds at hitting the jackpot.
Last week, the Canadian provincial lotteries announced the changes for the game, which is governed by rules set by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation (ILC). They were approved on Sept. 25, 2025 and are scheduled to go into effect April 10, 2026. The first drawing to abide by the new game rules will be April 14, 2026.
The first major change is the jackpot cap. Right now, Lotto Max jackpots are capped at $80 million (US$56.9 million). That maximum amount will increase to $90 million (US$64 million), which, if hit, would create some record-breaking prize amounts for Canadian lotteries.
There will also be a new feature added to the game, called the MAXPLUS Series, which will deliver chances to win additional $100,000 prizes every drawing in addition to the game's existing prize structure.
Following every Lotto Max draw for the jackpot, seven more numbers are drawn at random, one additional drawing for every multiple of $1 million in that night's jackpot amount.
For example, if the jackpot for that evening is at $50 million, there will be 50 MAXPLUS draws following the main drawing. Each of those separate MAXPLUS drawings offers a $100,000 prize, and any ticket matching all seven numbers in any of these draws wins a share of that $100,000 prize. If there is more than one winning ticket in a particular MAXPLUS drawing, they will split the $100,000 prize.
The odds of winning any single MAXPLUS prize will be the same as winning the jackpot: 1 in 33,446,140.
That being said, it's going to be harder to win the jackpot. The game will have two more numbers added to the matrix, increasing the numbers players select from 1 to 50 to 1 to 52.
The ticket price will also increase from $5 to $6, but every ticket will include four plays instead of three.
"This small change helps us continue offering record-breaking jackpots, plus the addition of the new $100,000 prizes to the game that Canadian lottery players love," Canadian lotteries said in their announcements.
According to the ILC, the game changes will improve the overall odds of winning any prize in the game, from 1 in 8.5 to 1 in 5.8.
"We're committed to keeping LOTTO MAX fresh and fun and these enhancements ensure we can keep delivering the excitement you expect," the ILC added.
Lotto Max drawings are conducted digitally via random number generator.
The Lotto Max jackpot currently stands at $20 million (US$14.2 million) for the next drawing on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Lotto Max drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
All winning numbers, prizes, and odds are published on Lottery Post's Multi-Province Lottery Results page right after each drawing.
Good luck to all our friends across the border.
Side Note: This is not backed by any data.
I am more sure if we have people on the US side who would cross the border to play the Lotto Max in Canada, and/or if we have people on the Canadian side that are drawn to the US games.
Wondering what the impact of the changes would be if any of the above assumptions is true.
Thanks man.
As a tracker of the Lotto Max here in Canada I find this game to be one of (if not) the hardest to win (save and apart from the odds) due to the mere fact that their so called random number generator is just an animated fancy looking video.
What's really needed is the use of a mechanical ball drawing machine which of course is no longer their preferred mode of selecting numbers.
With that being said $90 million is nothing to sneeze at considering its allllll TAX FREE!
Good luck to the lucky players!
So one in 33 million chance just to win 100,000 that might be split? That's kind of lame. When are these lotteries going to realize they'll make more money when they stop capping the amount of the jackpot. You start getting to two or 300 million then you're really going to start get people to get excited to buy this game. This price increase is totally unnecessary
Though it might be construed as hearsay since no KY lottery representative is here I'll reiterate what two different employees told me. Naturally asked about getting mechanical ball drawings back...No....it costs $400K for ball drawings/year (what?) and $100K for RNG. Second employee who travels the state told me that is the #1 complaint she receives...not happy with RNG.
When we go to Canada will play their lotto, though it seems hard to win and now will get worse!
There used to be.
Hi folks. Chip from the KY Lottery here.
Met Chip @ the KFC Yum! Center with Ms. Vanna White. Sure miss him @ KLC among other who have departed. It's not the same anymore