Simulators

Lottery Ticket Simulator: Fill a Ticket, Watch the Draw

Play a Lotto Max, 6/49 or Daily Grand ticket with play money. Pick your numbers or use a quick pick, watch the draw and compare your session with the expected result.

Loading the simulator

How to play the simulator

  1. Choose your regionThe operator of your region sets the games and the add-on.
  2. Pick a gameLotto Max, 6/49 with the Gold Ball draw, Daily Grand or a regional game.
  3. Fill a line or quick pickUse the grid or Quick pick. OLG's Lotto Max rules: a $6 play has 4 lines; you may choose the first, others are generated.
  4. Add the add-onOptional: add Encore, Extra or TAG, depending on the region. The add-on also costs play money.
  5. Choose how many drawsOne draw, a longer run up to a year, or until the jackpot is won.
  6. Buy and watchBalls are drawn one by one; matches are ringed on your ticket. Play money only: no real bet, nothing to buy.

What one play costs and pays

GamePrice per playLines per playTop tierTop tier odds per play
Lotto Max$647 of 71 in 33,446,140
Lotto 6/49$3one6 of 61 in 13,983,816
Daily Grand$3one5 of 5 + Grand Number1 in 13,348,188

Lotto Max: the odds of any prize are 1 in 5.83 per play. Less than the price goes to prizes, so a long session usually ends below what was spent.

How the simulator pays prizes

Fixed prizes: exact

A fixed prize is paid at its exact value, with no mark.

Pool prizes: ~

~

A share of a fund split among that tier's winners. The simulator pays an estimate from published breakdowns, marked ~.

Shared top prizes: *

*

A top prize split among winners, such as the 6/49 top prize, is paid in full as if you were the only winner, marked *.

Free play

Some tiers pay a free play instead of money, for example 2 of 6 in Lotto 6/49.

MAXPLUS sets

Lotto Max also draws MAXPLUS sets: one set of 7 numbers for every $1,000,000 in the jackpot. A line must match all seven numbers of a set. The simulator pays this shared prize in full, marked *.

Gold Ball draw

30 balls

30 balls at the start of a cycle. If a play's Gold Ball Draw Number is drawn, one ball sets the prize: $1,000,000 or the Gold Ball Jackpot.

Your session vs the expected result

Your session

  • Spent: play money paid for every play and add-on.
  • Won: every prize paid, with ~ for estimates and * for shared prizes.
  • Result: won minus spent, shown after each draw.
  • Best prize: the largest single win in the session.
  • One big prize does not change later draws.

The expected result

  • The average result per play, worked out from the exact chance of every tier.
  • Lotto Max puts 48.0% of the price into prize funds, jackpot included.
  • Lotto 6/49 puts 48.0% of the price into prize funds.
  • Over many draws, the average per play nears the expected result; the total loss usually grows.
  • Encore (OLG) returns 51.4% in fixed prizes only – a different measure from the prize-fund shares above.
  • For a much longer run, see Lotto Max for a lifetime.

Sources

Questions

Can I play a real lottery ticket on this simulator?

No. The simulator uses play money only: no real bets, no tickets, nothing to buy and nothing to win. It uses the real prize tables and odds, so you can see how a ticket works.

Are quick picks and my own numbers the same in the simulator?

Yes. Every combination has the same chance in every draw, whether you pick it or the quick pick does. Under OLG's Lotto Max rules, you may choose the first line and the other lines are generated.

Why does the simulator mark a prize as estimated?

Pool prizes are a share of a fund split among all winners of that tier, so the real amount is known only after the draw. The simulator shows an estimate from published breakdowns, marked ~. Shared top prizes are paid in full, marked *.

How often does a Lotto Max play win any prize?

The published odds of any prize are 1 in 5.83 per play. Most plays win nothing, and the jackpot odds are 1 in 33,446,140. The tab in the simulator above shows the exact chance of every tier.

Can the simulator show a group sharing one ticket?

Not this one. To see how a group splits the cost and the prizes, use the office pool simulator.