Lotto Max: Complete Guide to Rules, Odds and Prize Tiers

The format

Lotto Max draws seven numbers plus a bonus from a pool of 1 to 50, on Tuesdays and Fridays. A $5 play gives you three selections, one of which you can choose yourself.

Odds by prize tier

• 7/7 main jackpot: 1 in 33,294,800 per $5 play
• 6/7 plus bonus: 1 in 4,756,400
• 6/7: 1 in 113,248
• 5/7 plus bonus: 1 in 37,749
• Overall odds of any prize: roughly 1 in 7

The jackpot cap and Maxmillions

The main jackpot is capped at $80 million. Once the pool exceeds the cap, additional funds are split into separate $1 million Maxmillions prizes, each drawn as its own seven-number set. A single draw can therefore carry dozens of separate million-dollar chances.

Maxmillions materially change the value of a ticket without changing the odds of the main jackpot. They are the main reason large Lotto Max draws attract disproportionate ticket sales.

What analysis is useful here

With seven numbers drawn from fifty, the most common odd/even shapes are 4-3 and 3-4, and most winning sets spread across at least four decades. Choosing an unusual shape does not improve your odds, but sets that look 'random' are played less often, which slightly reduces the chance of splitting a jackpot.