The biggest lottery jackpots won in Canada.

What these figures mean

• The jackpot is the top prize pool of the draw: when several tickets won it, it was shared and each received the amount under “per ticket”. Figures are BCLC PlayNow’s draw records, checked against Loto-Québec and Atlantic Lottery wherever they publish the same draw (OLG’s results for Lottario). A draw is used only when every source that has it agrees on the winning tickets and the amount, to the cent. Lotto 6/49’s Gold Ball jackpot (since September 14, 2022) is BCLC PlayNow’s figure alone: the check covers the classic prize of the same draw.
• “Where sold” is exactly what BCLC PlayNow lists for the draw: the region of the lottery that sold the ticket (Ontario, Québec, Western Canada: the Western Canada Lottery Corporation’s provinces and territories, Atlantic Canada) or, for a ticket sold in B.C., the city. Lottizen doesn’t add a more specific place.
• Places with more jackpots are places where more tickets are sold, mostly because more people live there. A place, a store or a set of numbers doesn’t make a ticket more likely to win: every combination has the same chance in every draw.
• Jackpots of the same amount share a rank. The list stops at the 100th jackpot and includes every jackpot tied with it, so it has 138 rows.

Draws left out, and why

140 draws of the jackpot record are not used: 120 draws where official sources disagree and 20 draws that no official source we read publishes. They are neither ranked nor estimated.

• Lotto 6/49: 4 draws (November 11, 2015 to March 23, 2016) where the official sources disagree on the top prize: in 4 draws every source says a ticket won, but they state different amounts.
• Lotto Max: 116 draws (September 25, 2009 to November 8, 2013) where the official sources disagree on the top prize: in 116 draws every source says nobody won.
• Lotto 6/49: 20 draws (July 23, 2003 to December 21, 2019), because no official source publishes the draw's top prize (1 draw); PlayNow's record of the draw answers with a server error (asked again weekly) (19 draws).

For early Lotto Max draws nobody won, BCLC PlayNow gives the prize pool and Loto-Québec the advertised round amount; which of the two is “the jackpot” isn’t settled, so neither is used.

Which draws are covered

The ranking

“=” marks a rank shared by jackpots of the same amount.

Past draws only: these figures say nothing about future draws. More data for reporters: Press & data.