Draws for the big national lottery prizes take place late in New Brunswick. These multimillion-dollar prize pools are shared by provinces across Canada. This means they take place at 11:30 p.m. Atlantic Time. The province may have a small population, but residents still have claimed some big wins. This includes a jackpot of $30 million won in Boiestown, NB.
New Brunswick has partnered with Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland to form the Atlantic Lottery Corp. This crown corporation administers the national draws, runs local lottery pools, and provides scratch cards and online gambling options via its ALC.ca portal.
This page has information to get you started with the New Brunswick lottery. You will find an overview of how the lottery works, how to claim prizes and what types of games are available, along with information on scratch cards, instant games, slots and sports betting.
How the New Brunswick lottery works
To play the lottery in New Brunswick, you must be 19 or older. You have the option of either playing online or purchasing a ticket at a retail outlet. The first draw in the Atlantic provinces took place in 1976, and the region was the first to allow online lottery ticket sales, with the first sales taking place in 2004.
For online lottery purchases, you first need to register at the Atlantic Lottery website. Here you can buy individual tickets, as well as set up subscriptions for multiple draws. There are also ticket bundles covering multiple draws, with free “TAG” draw entries in some cases.
A big advantage to online ticket purchases is that the site automatically checks your numbers, and it will pay smaller wins into your account. You will also get access to second chance draws, instant games (online versions of scratch cards and novelty games), slots, casino table games, video poker, bingo, keno and Pro-Line sports betting via the ALC portal. You can also use the portal to check how many big prizes remain for each type of retail scratch card.
There is a separate online lottery app that you can use to check tickets. This includes a barcode scanner, which tells you instantly whether your ticket is a winner. You can download the app by following a link from the main portal.
How to claim lottery winnings in New Brunswick
How you claim your winnings from the New Brunswick lottery changes as the prizes get bigger:
- If you win $250 or less, you can instantly claim the prize at a local retail lottery store.
- For prizes between $251 and $9,999, you can claim the money at any branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia, or in person at the lottery head office in Moncton, New Brunswick.
- If you win $10,000 or more, contact the dedicated prize number to make individual arrangements.
Lottery games in New Brunswick
There is a packed schedule of draws for players in New Brunswick, as well as games that are available around the clock. Here are the categories:
- National lottery draws: Lotto Max, Lotto 6/49 and The Daily Grand.
- Provincial draws: Regional options include Atlantic 49, bingo, poker and keno-based lottery draws.
- Scratch cards: Instant prizes including some huge jackpots via retail or online scratch cards.
- Casino games: Slots, table games and video poker. Multiple games have jackpot prizes.
- Bingo: 75 ball bingo games with a social element take place throughout the day.
- Sports betting: Straight bets, props and pool betting through the Pro-Line system.
New Brunswick lottery: National draws
There are three large multi-provincial draws that take place across Canada. You can enter them at retail outlets or online in NB. Each draw takes place twice a week.
Lotto Max
The Lotto Max draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday at 11:30 p.m. Atlantic Time. For $5, you get three sets of seven numbers between 1 and 50. You can choose the first set of numbers, while the lottery terminal will randomly choose the second and third sets. Alternatively, the terminal can generate all three sets of numbers for you.
To win the jackpot, you must match all seven of your numbers. The jackpot pool for Lotto Max starts at $10 million and will rise every time no one wins. The maximum payout is $70 million. If multiple players match all seven numbers, they will share the jackpot.
The largest-ever New Brunswick lottery win happened in the Super 7, the precursor to the Lotto Max. In 2004, Trevor Hunter of Boiestown claimed the jackpot prize of $30 million. Hunter and his wife, Patty, immediately quit their jobs and made plans to buy a Cadillac, also donating funds to diabetes research.
Lotto 6/49
The Lotto 6/49 draw takes place every Wednesday and Saturday at 11:30 p.m. Atlantic Time. Each ticket costs $3 and lets you choose six numbers between 1 and 49. You can pick these yourself, or get the terminal to generate them randomly. In addition to the selection of six numbers, each ticket has a 10-digit serial number for the guaranteed prize draw that takes place alongside the lottery.
To win the jackpot prize, you need to match all six of your numbers. This jackpot starts at $5 million and increases until someone wins. The highest ever prize was $64 million. The guaranteed prize draw alongside the main lottery offers $1 million, meaning at least two players in Canada will become millionaires each week.
The Daily Grand
The Daily Grand draws take place every Monday and Thursday at 11:30 p.m. AT. Tickets cost $3. This draw uses five numbers between 1 and 49 and a single Grand Number between 1 and 7. Once again, you can choose your own numbers or have them generated for you.
If you are lucky enough to match all six of your numbers, you win the jackpot prize — $1,000 a day for the rest of your life. Winners also have the option of taking an immediate lump sum of $7 million. If you manage to match the five numbers between 1 and 49, but not the Grand Number, you win the second prize of $25,000 a year for life.
All three of these draws are available across Canada, including BCLC Lottery and Saskatchewan Lottery.
Atlantic region draws/instant games in New Brunswick
As well as the large national draws, you can try multiple local draws from the Atlantic Lottery. The largest game is the Atlantic 49, which runs alongside the Lotto 6/49:
- Atlantic 49: This draw is similar to Lotto 6/49 and follows the same pattern of picking six numbers between 1 and 49. There is a $1 million top prize and a guaranteed winner of at least $25,000 every draw. Tickets cost $1, and draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday.
In addition to the major draw, you can check out a series of daily games and instant win options:
- Hit or Miss: This is a daily draw that offers two chances to win for a $2 stake. First the lottery terminal will randomly select 12 numbers between 1 and 24 and you will see instantly if your numbers match. This part of the game has an instant prize of $25,000. The same ticket also provides entry into a nightly draw with a chance of winning $250,000.
- Salsa Bingo: A daily game that mixes bingo gameplay with a lottery. The jackpot starts at $10,000 and grows daily if no one wins. Twenty-eight bingo numbers are drawn, and you win by matching the numbers to the bingo cards on your ticket.
- Poker Lotto: This game is a mix of poker and lottery play. You have two chances to win. First, you get five randomly generated playing cards, and if these make a made poker hand, you win money. You then aim to match as many of the five with the five cards generated in the nightly draw.
- Lotto 4: Win up to $25,000 on this nightly draw. With this game, you get a choice of how much to buy in for. Numbers need to be drawn in the correct order on your ticket to get the biggest prize.
- Bucko: This game is called Bucko because it costs a dollar to play, and you have a chance to win up to $20,000 in the draw-based game.
- Keno Atlantic: With a nightly draw, Keno Atlantic is another game that lets you choose your stake level and risk. Pick how many numbers you want to play, and the more numbers you match, the more you can win.
In all the games listed above let you also add the “TAG” option. For an extra $1, you are entered into a cash draw with a jackpot prize of $100,000. If you are playing Lotto Max, you can also add up to 10 “Twist” tickets (each at the cost of $1) for more chances to win.
New Brunswick lottery draw schedule
Here are the draws you can try throughout the week in New Brunswick. Draws take place at 11:30 p.m. and just before, Atlantic Time.
- Monday: Daily Grand
- Tuesday: Lotto Max
- Wednesday: Lotto 6/49, Atlantic 49
- Thursday: Daily Grand
- Friday: Lotto Max
- Saturday: Lotto 6/49, Atlantic 49
Scratch and win games in New Brunswick
At any one time, there are more than 100 scratch cards in circulation for New Brunswick players. They are varied in terms of gameplay, with a range of themes, stakes (cards cost anywhere from $1 up to $30) and top prizes.
It is possible to increase your chances of winning a scratch card jackpot. On the Atlantic Lottery website, there is a list of how many winning tickets are left at each prize level. You can see which cards have the most jackpots and big wins outstanding. This will not guarantee that you get lucky, though it will give you the information you need to bet with the odds in your favour. Examples of current scratch cards in NB:
- Flaming 7s: This slot machine-style game sees you scratch off 10 sets of “reels.” Line up three matching symbols to win the listed prize. At the cost of $2, this card offers a top prize of $17,777.
- Big 10 Grand: For $10, you have the chance to win one of 10 $1 million prizes. Scratch off the six prize numbers and then compare these to your own 30 numbers for a chance at the prize underneath.
Scratch cards are also playable online. They appear under “instants” on the ALC website. For many games, you can pick your own stake level (with the prizes changing to match). Novelty games include game show-themed options.
If you have a losing scratch card or lottery ticket, check out the second chance section of the ALC site. This gives you draw entries, with prizes totalling $40,000 per month across the Atlantic provinces available.
Online casino games in New Brunswick
You can play a full range of virtual casino games from New Brunswick via the Atlantic Lottery Corp. portal. The most popular games are online slot games. You will find many favourites from live casinos, including new games like Anchorman and Ghostbusters. IGT MegaJackpots games like Golden Goddess and Cleopatra offer the chance to win prize funds of more than half a million dollars.
Table games include online blackjack, baccarat, three card poker and roulette, while a series of video poker variations are available under the Game King brand. Bingo games run regularly. They use the 75-ball format and include a social element where you can chat via text with other players.
Sports betting in New Brunswick
Sports betting is available online in NB via the lottery website, using the Pro-Line system. You can wager on sports games, place prop bets and make long-term futures wagers. Stadium bets offer the chance to wager on games with a no-tie option. Pro-Line also offers fantasy sports, where you compete with others to pick a winning team.
Responsible gambling and the New Brunswick lottery
Information regarding responsible gambling in New Brunswick is available under the PlayWise section of the Atlantic Lottery website. PlayWise states, “Gambling should always be safe and fun. In fact, responsible gambling is one of Atlantic Lottery’s core values. We created PlayWise to help you be an informed player. Because informed players know the facts, they play for fun, not for money.”
Included in the section are helpful resources for players, the opportunity to self-exclude and access to confidential helplines.
How do lottery proceeds help New Brunswick?
All the profits from the Atlantic Lottery Corp. go to the four provinces. As an example, in 2019-20, the New Brunswick government received $124.5 million in profits from lottery funding. The government put those funds toward services like education, infrastructure and health care. For every dollar spent on the lottery in Atlantic Canada, 92 cents stay in the provinces.
Wrapping up: Online lottery games in New Brunswick
Just about every form of lottery game is available to New Brunswick-based players. While the giant jackpots of the national draws get all the headlines, this is just the start when it comes to ways to win big money.
New Brunswick has access to Atlantic region draws, including the big Atlantic 49. Add to this nightly draws, instant games at retail terminals and physical scratch cards. If you register at the ALC website, you get even more options. Games include instants, slots, table games, video poker and bingo. You can also use the web portal to buy tickets, enter second-chance drawings and automatically receive your wins.