Real lottery balls will soon be a thing of the past for Canada's Lotto Max and Lotto 649 games, after May 14th the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation has said it will move to a random number generator.
"They're part of our history but, you know, all good things come to an end and times change and this is all part of that process," Greg Weston, a spokesperson for Atlantic Lottery, told CBC's Mainstreet on Tuesday.
This digitized approach has been in place for Atlantic Lotteries Regional games since 2017 and the changeover for Lotto Max and Lotto 649 is expected to be smooth and efficient.
"We actually have two sets of auditors: one who is on-site and they can examine the results to make sure that everything went according to plan," Weston said.
"And then we have another set of auditors in a completely different location who also checks the results to make sure that the results match and so that way there's just lots of checks and balances."
"We want to make sure that it remains as random and secure as ever."
"We all remember watching the balls when we were younger, they've been around for many, many years," Weston went on to say. "But technology evolves and the lottery is no different."
It has also been confirmed that the maximum Lotto Max jackpot is going up from $60 million to $70 million and the draw is moving to twice weekly on Friday and beginning May 11th on Tuesday.
It's not all good news for Canadian lotto players though. Under the new game plan Lotto Max players will pick 7 numbers from 1-50 instead of 1-49 and that means the odds of winning the jackpot changes from 1 in 28 million to 1 in 33 million.
However, two new lower-tier bonus prizes and Maxmillion prizes added when the jackpot reaches $50 million is a consolation prize of sorts for Lotto Max players.
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