Canadian Lotteries 

Encore- An Add On Lottery Game

Kamal Kaur

Do you love playing lotteries? And how about if the lottery comes with an added value to your choice of game for you to have more and more wins? Such an addition to the lottery was added by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) and is known as ENCORE. So basically what is Encore let us find out here!

About ENCORE

  • Play for just $1.
  • Top prize of $1 Million.
  • $100,000 second prize.
  • 12 ways to win!
  • Available on LOTTO 6/49, LOTTO SUPER 7, ONTARIO 49, LOTTARIO, PayDay, PICK-3, PICK-4 and DAILY KENO.
  • Play up to 10 ENCORE per ticket.
  • Win by matching the first or last number.
  • Prizes are fixed, not shared.
  • Draws held daily.
  • Available only in Ontario.

Ticket
ENCORE is an add-on lottery game that can be played with a host lottery game such as LOTTO MAX, LOTTO 6/49, ONTARIO 49, LOTTARIO, PICK-3, PICK-4 and DAILY KENO. For the low price of $1, ENCORE offers players an extra chance to win on their ticket. Players can win up to $1 Million on ENCORE.

There are 10 million combinations of numbers from 0000000 to 9999999. When a player says “Yes” to ENCORE, the central computer system will select a number to be printed on the ticket. Numbers will start to repeat after all 10 million possible combinations are sold.

ENCORE is now not Displayed on Tickets

OLG is no longer displaying the ENCORE number on tickets where ENCORE was not purchased. Since ENCORE can only be played by adding it to a play on another game, earlier OLG always included the number to remind players that ENCORE is also available.

While planning for the current version of the game, it was found in research by OLG that customers are divided on whether they prefer to see a number even if they don’t play ENCORE, so they decided to no longer add an ENCORE number on a ticket if the game is not played.

Tickets on other games still include a reference to ENCORE, but OLG is no longer printing a number unless the customer chooses to play ENCORE.

Prize Structure

Prize Pay out

There is ONE prize structure that applies to all ENCORE purchases for any draw date. With ENCORE being added to all online terminal games, there will be only one ENCORE number drawn nightly. That one ENCORE number will apply to all host games drawn that night. For example, if a player purchases a LOTTO 6/49 with ENCORE, ONTARIO 49 with ENCORE and PICK-3 with ENCORE for a Saturday night draw, the one ENCORE number drawn on that Saturday night will apply to all of these ENCORE purchases.

ENCORE can be Played 10 Draws in Advance

Games
ENCORE can be purchased for up to 10 draws in advance with the purchase of any host game (i.e., PICK-3, PICK-4, LOTTO MAX, LOTTO 6/49, DAILY KENO, LOTTARIO and ONTARIO 49). The number of advance ENCORE draws purchased must be the same as the number of host game draws purchased if a player buys five LOTTO 6/49 advance draws and also wants ENCORE, then the player must purchase at least one ENCORE selection for each of the five host game draws.

How to purchase ENCORE Online

You can buy ENCORE from a retailer or can also purchase online. It’s easy to add ENCORE to your LOTTO 6/49 or LOTTO MAX purchases. Just Log in and register yourself on the OLG website PlayOLG and select the Lottery tab. After registering your account you can make your deposits to have the lottery tickets.

If you don’t have a PlayOLG account with deposited funds, there are a few simple steps to getting started. After this one-time process, all your future ENCORE purchases will be quick and easy.

  • Choose your numbers for either a LOTTO MAX or LOTTO 6/49 ticket and then select up to ten additional ENCORE plays.
  • Review and complete your purchase for just $1 per ENCORE play.
  • Depending on the lottery game you play, online single-purchase ticket sales are open for each draw until 10:30 p.m. (ET) each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night. A draw break (10:30 p.m. to 10:40 p.m.) will occur each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night, and draw sales will reopen for the next draw after 10:40 p.m. Currently on PlayOLG, any LOTTO MAX or LOTTO 6/49 purchases with ENCORE cannot be purchased during draw breaks on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The Jackpot and the Numbers

ENCORE cash prizes range from $2 to a worthy Jackpot of $1 million. If you say yes to ENCORE, an additional seven-digit ENCORE number will appear on your regular LOTTO MAX or LOTTO 6/49 ticket for each ENCORE play you add.

The ENCORE Odds

ENCORE offers you 22 ways to win cash prizes. Your overall chances of winning a prize are 1 in 9.17. Match all seven numbers to share in the $1 million Jackpot! Or, if your ticket has other winning ENCORE number combinations, you may be able to collect a cash prize in one of the categories below:

How to Play Encore

  • Mark the number of ENCORE you want to play (1-10) on your Selection Slip or ask your lottery retailer to include ENCORE on Quick Picks with your host game selection.
  • For each ENCORE selected, a seven-digit ENCORE number is printed below your regular ticket number(s).
  • If ENCORE is played, “PLAYED” will appear beside the ENCORE logo; otherwise “NOT ENTERED” will appear.
  • The ENCORE number(s) on your ticket is valid for the same draw date(s) as the host game on your ticket.

How to claim your prize

winner
On winning the ENCORE Lottery and having won less than $1000, you don’t have to do anything. Your prize is automatically credited to your PlayOLG account if registered with the OLG website.

For the cash prizes between $1000-$100,000 (and all merchandise prizes), you will be prompted to fill out a Lottery Prize Claim Declaration Form (LPCD Form). Once you’ve successfully submitted your LPCD Form, OLG will handle the rest, either crediting your PlayOLG account or contacting you for more information. If you’ve won cash prizes that total more than $100,000 you will have to fill out your LPCD Form, submit it and the OLG Prize Centre will contact you.

Why not try your hand with ENCORE Lottery and share your experience with us?