LOTTO 6/49 Is Getting A Makeover In Fall 2013

New Guaranteed $1 Million Prize To Be Won Every Draw

TORONTO, April 24, 2013 /CNW/ - LOTTO 6/49 is getting ready for a makeover.  Starting in September 2013, LOTTO 6/49 will offer Canadian lottery players a new $1 million prize that's guaranteed to be won with each and every draw, jackpots that start at $5 million, and new free play prizes that can be won by matching just 2 numbers.

"With the new $1 million prize that's guaranteed to be won with every draw, LOTTO 6/49 will be creating more millionaires every week," said Greg McKenzie, Senior Vice President Lottery, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) and current President of the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. "These changes will make LOTTO 6/49 better than ever while still being the game that Canadians have been playing since 1982."

To support the guaranteed million dollar prizes, bigger starting jackpots, and the new free plays, the new LOTTO 6/49 will be priced at $3 per play.  For the one additional dollar, players are going to see more ways to win and better value overall than the current game structure offers.  "We tested these improvements with more than ten thousand LOTTO 6/49 players from coast to coast," said McKenzie.  "They were excited about the new ways to win and they told us that its great value for the new price."

LOTTO 6/49 will still be the same game that players know and love, only better. Players will still look to match up 6 numbers from 1 to 49 to win big jackpots or other great cash prizes, plus the new free plays for matching just 2 of 6 numbers. And with each $3 play, they will also receive a new unique number exclusively for the new $1 million prize that is guaranteed to be won with every draw.  With the new free play prize category, the overall odds of winning any prize improve from 1 in 32.3 to just 1 in 6.6 which means nearly 5 times more winning overall.

Sales for the new LOTTO 6/49 will start on Sunday, September 15, 2013 with the first draw to be held on Wednesday, September 18, 2013.  More details about the changes will be released closer to the start of ticket sales.

The Interprovincial Lottery Corporation (ILC) is a nationwide lottery organization incorporated in 1976 under the Canada Corporation Act.  The five Canadian provincial lottery corporations include Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Loto-Québec, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Western Canada Lottery Corporation, and British Columbia Lottery Corporation, and are joined together through the ILC to undertake national lotteries, instant games and other initiatives of common interest.  The provincial lotteries are responsible for national games in their respective jurisdictions.

SOURCE: Interprovincial Lottery Corporation

Atlantic Lottery: Tracy Kenney 506-867-5943
Loto-Québec: Jean-Pierre Roy 514-499-5151
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation: Don Pister 888-946-6716
Western Canada Lottery Corporation: Andrea Marantz 204-946-1397
British Columbia Lottery Corporation: Laura Piva-Babcock 250-828-5576