Every $3 Lotto 6/49 play enters two draws. The Classic Draw is the familiar six-numbers-from-1-to-49 game, with a jackpot that is always $5 million (published odds 1 in 13,983,816). The Gold Ball Draw picks one winning 10-digit number every draw from all the Gold Ball numbers issued, so someone always wins. That winner then gets a ball drawn: a white ball pays $1 million, the gold ball pays the Gold Ball jackpot, which starts at $10 million, grows by $2 million each draw it isn't won, and can reach up to $68 million.
The rules below come from WCLC's and OLG's Lotto 6/49 pages and OLG's game conditions, read on October 17, 2026. Lotto 6/49 is a national game, so they're the same across Canada.
The two draws at a glance
| Classic Draw | Gold Ball Draw | |
|---|---|---|
| What's on your ticket | Six numbers from 1 to 49 (your picks or Quick Pick) | A computer-generated 10-digit number |
| Top prize | $5 million, always | Gold Ball jackpot, $10 million up to $68 million |
| Guaranteed prize | No | Yes: $1 million (white ball) or the jackpot (gold ball), every draw |
| Lower prizes | Yes, six more tiers | No. Exact match of the full number only |
| Published odds | 1 in 13,983,816 for the jackpot | One out of the number of Gold Ball selections issued for that draw |
Draws are held every Wednesday and Saturday. OLG's game conditions put the odds of winning any Lotto 6/49 prize at 1 in 6.6 per $3 play.
How does the Gold Ball Draw work, step by step?
- Every play gets a Gold Ball number. With each $3 play your ticket carries a computer-generated 10-digit number, described by WCLC as "an 8-digit number followed by a 2-digit trailer (e.g. 12345678-01)." You can't choose it.
- One number is drawn from the tickets issued. OLG's game conditions say one Gold Ball Draw number is "drawn at random from among all the Gold Ball Draw Numbers issued for that draw." Because the winning number always comes from a ticket that was actually issued, WCLC notes "this guarantees that there is a winning ticket for each draw."
- Then a ball decides the prize. Up to 30 prize balls are in play: 29 white and one gold. One is drawn for the winning ticket.
- White ball: the winner gets $1 million.
- Gold ball: the winner gets the Gold Ball jackpot.
- White balls stay out. In WCLC's words, "whenever a white ball is drawn, the ball is not replaced." OLG's conditions say the drawn $1 million balls are "removed from the subsequent Gold Ball Jackpot Draws." With fewer white balls left, the gold ball makes up a larger share of the balls each time.
- The jackpot grows until the gold ball comes out. It starts at $10 million and grows by $2 million each draw until it is won. Once the gold ball is drawn, "everything is reset": the jackpot goes back to $10 million and all 30 balls go back into the draw.
How high can the Gold Ball jackpot go?
OLG says the Gold Ball jackpot "starts at $10 million and can reach up to $68 million." That ceiling follows from the ball mechanics: there are 29 white balls, so at most 29 draws can pass without the gold ball, and $10 million plus 29 increases of $2 million is $68 million. By that point the gold ball is the only ball left. (WCLC's page describes the same thing as a jackpot that "can grow to more than $60 million.")
You can see the current Gold Ball jackpot and recent results on our Lotto 6/49 page.
What are the odds of winning the Gold Ball Draw?
There is no fixed published figure, because it depends on sales. WCLC states the odds as "one out of the number of Gold Ball Draw selections issued for that draw," and the Gold Ball Draw is exact-match only: the full 10-digit number has to match. Holding a ticket doesn't change which ball comes out afterwards, and nothing you do when buying a ticket affects either step: the Gold Ball number is computer-generated.
How does the Classic Draw work?
The Classic Draw is the traditional lotto part of the game: six numbers from 1 to 49 plus a bonus number. The jackpot is a fixed $5 million; OLG's game conditions say that if several tickets match all six, each gets $5,000,000 divided by the number of winning selections. The full prize table, as WCLC publishes it:
| Match | Prize | Odds per $3 play |
|---|---|---|
| 6 of 6 | Win or share $5 million | 1 in 13,983,816 |
| 5 of 6 + Bonus | Share of 32.15% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 2,330,636 |
| 5 of 6 | Share of 13.5% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 55,492 |
| 4 of 6 | Share of 54.35% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 1,033 |
| 3 of 6 | $10 | 1 in 56.7 |
| 2 of 6 + Bonus | $5 | 1 in 81.2 |
| 2 of 6 | Free Play | 1 in 8.3 |
The "Pools Fund" tiers are shared: a set percentage of that draw's prize pool is split among everyone in the tier, so those amounts change every draw. These odds are the same for every combination of numbers. Our Lotto 6/49 statistics show how often each number has been drawn in the past, which is a historical record and not a prediction.
Can I win both draws with one ticket?
Yes. The Classic Draw and the Gold Ball Draw are separate draws, and OLG says "every $3 LOTTO 6/49 play is eligible for two multimillion-dollar prizes," so one play is checked against both.