Lotto 6/49 Odds Table, Prize by Prize
Canada’s national lotto: the official odds for every Classic Draw prize, and how they are worked out.
How the game works
According to OLG and Atlantic Lottery, a Lotto 6/49 play costs $3. Six numbers from 1 to 49 are drawn for the Classic Draw, plus a bonus number, and the Classic jackpot is a fixed $5 million. Every play also gets a 10-digit Gold Ball Draw number for a separate draw (the Gold Ball Jackpot or $1 million). The Gold Ball Draw is won by matching an exact number, so its odds depend on how many numbers were issued for that draw, and they are not covered here.
Classic Draw odds
| Match | Prize | Official odds (per $3 play) | Ways to match | Our calculation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 of 6 | $5,000,000 (fixed Classic jackpot) | 1 in 13,983,816 | C(6,6) = 1 | 1 in 13,983,816 |
| 5 of 6 + Bonus | Share of pool (example: $104,177) | 1 in 2,330,636 | C(6,5) × 1 = 6 | 1 in 2,330,636.0 |
| 5 of 6 | Share of pool (example: $1,042) | 1 in 55,492 | C(6,5) × 42 = 252 | 1 in 55,491.3 |
| 4 of 6 | Share of pool | 1 in 1,033 | C(6,4) × C(43,2) = 13,545 | 1 in 1,032.4 |
| 3 of 6 | Fixed prize | 1 in 56.7 | C(6,3) × C(43,3) = 246,820 | 1 in 56.7 |
| 2 of 6 + Bonus | Fixed prize | 1 in 81.2 | C(6,2) × 1 × C(42,3) = 172,200 | 1 in 81.2 |
| 2 of 6 | Free Play | 1 in 8.3 | C(6,2) × C(42,4) = 1,678,950 | 1 in 8.3 |
Official figures from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation’s Lotto 6/49 page, which lists overall odds of about 1 in 6.6 for any prize. Pool prizes vary by draw; the dollar examples are the ones ALC lists. Odds checked against the official site on October 15, 2026. Rules and prizes can change, so check the official site before you play.
The arithmetic
There are C(49,6) = 49! ÷ (6! × 43!) = 13,983,816 ways to choose 6 numbers from 49, so the jackpot odds are 1 in 13,983,816.
For 4 of 6, you need 4 of the 6 winning numbers (C(6,4) = 15 ways) and 2 of the 43 losing numbers (C(43,2) = 903 ways): 15 × 903 = 13,545 tickets, and 13,983,816 ÷ 13,545 ≈ 1,032.4, which is the “1 in 1,033” on the official page. The bonus-number prizes work the same way, except one of the 43 losing numbers is the bonus, which leaves 42 others. For 5 + Bonus you need 5 winners and the bonus: 6 × 1 = 6 tickets, or 1 in 2,330,636. Add all seven levels and the chance of any prize is about 1 in 6.6. Most of those prizes are the 2-of-6 Free Play.
What that means for a ticket
ALC’s page says the Classic Draw’s pool and jackpot funds come out of a fixed share of sales, so on average a ticket returns well under its $3 price. Think of that gap as the price of playing. Our lottery expected value guide shows how to work it out, and the gambler’s fallacy explains why “overdue” numbers are no more likely to come up.
Sources
Reviewed by Greg Parsons, editor, against the sources above.