In this OLG Winners series, we’re highlighting the real winning stories of everyday Ontarians who played the lottery. From paying it forward to making long-held dreams a reality, these winners show us what they’re doing with their new fortunes – and how one win can bring joy, hope and even a fresh start.

What do Haleigh, an 18-year-old from Minden, Darcy, a senior from Garden River First Nation, and Justin, a 29-year-old plumber from Elginburg, have in common? They are all Ontario lottery winners with stories as unique as they are.

Haleigh won $75,000 on her first lottery ticket, an INSTANT GINGERBREAD BUCKS game that her great-aunt gave her for Christmas. Darcy won $100,000 on ENCORE. He’d been playing for years, and he couldn’t believe he had won. Justin almost forgot he’d bought a ticket before realizing he had scored his first big win: $1-million Gold Ball prize with a LOTTO 6/49 Quick Pick ticket.

When it comes to where winning happens in Ontario, the answer is simple: Everywhere.

“It really doesn't make any difference where you buy your lottery ticket. People have the same opportunity to win if they live in Kenora, if they live in Attawapiskat, if they live in Cornwall or down in Pelee Island,” says Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) spokesperson Tony Bitonti. “If we look province-wide, the chance of winning remains the same in every Ontario community.”

Consider a few of the biggest wins of the past six months. In August, the winning $75-million LOTTO MAX ticket was purchased in Kingston. In June, the $34-million LOTTO 6/49 was bought in North Bay. And in December, a LOTTO MAX ticket, worth an incredible $80-million, was sold in London – the biggest jackpot win in Ontario lottery history. People are winning like this, big and small, every day across the province, with $2.7-billion in prizes awarded in the last year and over 200 million wins*.

OLG has a system that ensures randomness. For INSTANT tickets – aka scratch tickets – there are about 50 different games you can choose from during different times of the year. All winning tickets are distributed randomly in ticket packages; where these packages are sent is completely random.

“There are no concrete patterns,” Bitonti says. “When we send out the thousands of ticket packages to retailers, we don't know in which packages those winning tickets are found.”

As for the nine draw-based lotteries on offer in Ontario, such as LOTTO MAX and LOTTO 6/49, unless you’re part of the half of the population who picks their own numbers, all Quick Picks are computer-generated completely randomly. That ensures the playing field is always equal.

“I’ve seen people who have played for decades, they play the same number, they win. I also see people that play for the first time and win,” Bitonti says.

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) sees more winners simply because a higher volume of tickets is sold in the region.

“We never say there's a lucky store,” Bitonti says. “There are stores that do sell some more winning tickets than other stores – again, based on volume, based on traffic – but any ticket sold in any store across Ontario has a chance of winning.”

Which tickets are more popular: scratch tickets or tickets that come from the lottery terminal? Bitonti says scratch tickets such as BINGO, INSTANT CROSSWORD and PLINKO are the perennial favourites. But when the jackpots on terminal-based lotteries hit the big leagues, “people really do keep an eye out for the massive jackpots and the buying frenzy goes up.”

With 100 per cent of OLG’s profits reinvested in the province, you can feel good about your purchase, win or lose. “There’s a lot of winning to be had, but in the end, all that money goes back to the province and does come back to you in some form, whether it's through hospitals, education and more,” Bitonti says.

Don't miss your chance to win. Get your ticket in-store or at OLG.ca.

*Based on total approximate number of winning tickets and value of prize money awarded by OLG on its lottery and sports betting products between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.