Postponed due to a strike by Loto-Québec employees forcing the postponement of Wednesday’s draw, the new version of the Loto 6/49 lottery is now available with two multimillion-dollar jackpots at stake in each draw.
The first draw of this improved version scheduled for Wednesday will offer a jackpot of $5 million for the classic draw known until then, while the guaranteed prize still in force will be replaced by the Golden Ball draw.
According to Loto-Québec, each draw will continue to have a guaranteed winner thanks to a unique number on each ticket. “This winner is guaranteed to win either a $1 million prize or a multi-million dollar prize,” the state-owned corporation said Monday.
The draw will be made among 29 white balls worth $1 million each and a gold ball worth $10 million.
When a white ball is drawn, it is not returned to the abacus for the next draw, while $2 million is added to the Golden Ball jackpot and so on until the latter is pulled.
If all the white balls are drawn for 29 consecutive draws, only the Golden Ball will remain, which will “certainly” be won with an amount exceeding $60 million, explained Loto-Québec.
Since its launch 40 years ago, Lotto 6/49 has enabled Quebecers to win more than $8.3 billion, including $3.4 billion in jackpots.