Record-breaking $68M lottery jackpot guaranteed to be won Wednesday

Someone is guaranteed to win a record-breaking $68 million jackpot in this week’s Lotto 6/49 draw after the gold ball wasn’t drawn on Saturday night.

Ontario lottery officials say a single winning ticket worth $5 million for the classic portion of Saturday’s draw was purchased somewhere in Simcoe County while another ticket worth $1 million was sold in Niagara Falls. An Encore winning ticket worth $1 million was purchased online at OLG.ca.

OLG officials say since the gold ball wasn’t drawn, there will be a guaranteed winner of an all-time high jackpot of $68 million during the next draw on Wednesday.

Under the current format, the lottery features 30 balls – 29 white balls, each representing the guaranteed $1 million prize, and one Gold Ball representing the growing jackpot. If a white ball is drawn, the guaranteed $1 million prize is won and that ball is removed leaving 28 white balls and one Gold Ball for the next draw. Draws continue until the Gold Ball is drawn and the jackpot is won.

“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!” lottery officials said in a statement on Sunday.

The previous largest LOTTO 6/49 jackpot win was in April 2023 when a $64 million ticket was sold in New Brunswick. A $64 million jackpot was also won in 2015 by a Mississauga resident.

The most recent Gold Ball jackpot was won back on June 14, 2023 when a ticket sold in Niagara Falls collected $42 million.

Saturday’s winning numbers in the Lotto 649 draw were: 05, 18, 22, 26, 28, 45. The bonus number was 14.

The winning number for the guaranteed $1 million prize was: 44965391-01.