'Milestone' OLG lottery jackpot to be drawn this week

A lucky lottery player in Canada will be the winner of a record-breaking multi-million dollar prize on Wednesday.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) said its Lotto 6/49 prize will reach $68 million for the first time in history.

OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti said this will be a “momentous milestone” for the crown agency.

“Since LOTTO 6/49 was enhanced in September 2022, the jackpot has never reached the top prize of $68 million. Only one ball remains for this Wednesday's draw – the Gold Ball – meaning the jackpot is guaranteed to be won and will create a new multi-millionaire!” Bitonti said in a release on Sunday.

“It has taken 15 weeks and 30 draws for the LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball jackpot to reach its top limit of $68 million.”

The closest prize that has ever been won to this one was the $64 million ticket sold in New Brunswick in April, and years earlier, in 2015, a $64 million LOTTO 6/49 jackpot won by a Mississauga resident.

A clerk hands a customer their Lotto Max ticket at a gas station north of Newcastle, Ontario on Thursday Oct. 6, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug IvesMost recently, a $42 million ticket sold in Niagara Falls was won on June 14.

The anticipated draw comes just months after a $70 million Lotto Max ticket expired – the biggest unclaimed ticket in Canadian history.