Controversial Lotto MAX Could Soon Reach New CA$70M Main Prize Cap

Canadians are well-known for their lottery preferences and Lotto MAX is among the hottest games available across the provinces. This is true because of the generous cash payouts it offers, evident once again this Tuesday. The fourth-ever Tuesday Lotto MAX draw is about to bring a CA$55-million jackpot for the luckiest lottery enthusiast who purchases a CA$5 ticket.

May 14 was a historical day that saw major changes to the way Lotto MAX happens on a regular basis. That Tuesday saw the official launch of regular Tuesday draws, a move that seemingly gives players more opportunities of winning big. However, in the meantime, the odds of claiming the main prize jackpots became worse, as an additional number was added to the overall number of balls. This is what has caused controversy and diverse reactions.

Jackpot Reaches CA$55 Million

According to lottery corporations, this was a change that players wanted, meaning that such a move came as a result of listening to them. With the additional draw, Lotto MAX also saw an increase of its prize cap to CA$70 million. This means that now players could fuel the jackpot and their efforts could pay out. Rewards are now on their way to the maximum Lotto MAX jackpot.

This Tuesday is going to see a CA$55-million jackpot awaiting its winner to match the needed lottery numbers. Whoever is fortunate enough could become Canada’s next multimillionaire. However, evidence of worsened chances of winning is already obvious, as no jackpots have been hit within the past few weeks. The May 14 draw came with a CA$17-million jackpot that remained untouched.

Only days after the inaugural Tuesday draw, the jackpot was already climbing towards the CA$27-million mark and continued growing without anything stopping it. Lottery enthusiasts have been fueling this growth with the idea that they could be winners soon, but to no avail. The only major main prize jackpot bagged within this period was the CA$55-million one that was hit on April 5.

Worsened Odds, More Opportunities

Dwayne Williams, a lottery player from Whitby, Ontario took his time to claim the major lottery cash prize, as he and his family were researching ways in which they could manage their new fortune in the most efficient manner. Ever since then the lottery prize has been accumulating in order to reach its current CA$55-million size. Western Canada Lottery Corporation has also made public its position regarding the additional draw.

Spokesperson Kevin van Egdom, a spokesperson for the corporation, pointed out that players go for the larger main prizes and the bigger the figure, the more impressive interest levels it observes. As for the worsened odds of winning big, Yaozhong Hu, a statistics professor at the University of Alberta, reminded that even though this is true, players have twice the opportunities of winning said jackpots and this should not be overlooked.

Lottery ticket purchases witness more than five million tickets sold during every Lotto MAX cycle. It is also a common practice for coworkers or larger groups of friends to purchase group tickets that increase their chances of winning the grand jackpot. It should also be taken into account that apart from the main prize, this Tuesday will also feature four Maxmillions prizes amounting to CA$1 million.