Lotto 6/49 Draw Days and the Gold Ball Draw Explained

Lotto 6/49 is drawn every Wednesday and Saturday evening at about 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. A $3 play gives you one selection of six numbers from 1 to 49 for the Classic draw, plus a ten-digit selection number entered into the Gold Ball draw.

The Classic draw

Six numbers and a bonus are drawn from 49. Matching all six wins the Classic jackpot, a fixed $5 million in the current format. The odds of matching six are 1 in 13,983,816 — the number of ways to choose six numbers from 49.

How the Gold Ball draw works

Every draw, one ball is pulled from a drum of white balls and a single gold ball. If a white ball comes out, the holder of the matching selection number wins a guaranteed $1 million and the white ball is removed — so the gold ball's chance improves every draw.

If the gold ball comes out, the matching selection number wins the Gold Ball jackpot. That jackpot starts at $10 million and grows each draw it is not won, up to the operator's cap. After a gold ball win the drum is reset.

Odds to keep in mind

• 6/6 Classic jackpot: 1 in 13,983,816
• Gold Ball draw: one selection number wins every draw, but your chance depends on how many tickets were sold
• Free play (2/6): about 1 in 8.3

Related

• Latest Lotto 6/49 results: /lotto-649
• Past Lotto 6/49 winning numbers: /lotto-649/results
• Lotto 6/49 hot and cold numbers: /lotto-649/hot-cold-numbers