Lotto Max jackpot hits $80 million for fourth time since cap increase

A clerk hands a customer their Lotto Max ticket at a gas station north of Newcastle, Ontario on Thursday Oct. 6, 2022. (Doug Ives/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Friday night’s Lotto Max jackpot has grown to $80 million for the fourth time since the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) upped the cap limit for the nationwide prize.

OLG says an estimated 14 Maxmillions prizes, worth $1 million each, are also up for grabs.

In March last year, the corporation increased the size of its jackpot cap from $70 million to $80 million.

It marked the third time the cap grew by a $10 million increment since it was first introduced in 2009.

The first-ever $80 million jackpot was split by two lucky winners in Owen Sound, Ont., and Quebec.

• READ MORE: Record-breaking Lotto Max jackpot tickets sold in Ontario, Quebec

The second was also a split win, between players in Quebec and Alberta, while the third was won by just one person in British Columbia.

If the jackpot isn’t won Friday night, the number of Maxmillions prizes available will climb instead, dependant however on how many of the 14 available are won in that same draw on Friday.

Players must match all seven of their selected numbers to the ones drawn to win the top prize. The odds of doing that are 1 in 33,294,800 per $5 play, according to OLG.

The overall odds to win any dollar amount prize are 1 in 7 per $5 play, they add.

Tickets can be purchased at any participating retailer up until 10:30 p.m.