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Lottery Player Fact Sheet

TICKET INFORMATION

Find the information you need about lottery tickets, winning numbers, how to claim a prize, and more.

TICKET INFORMATION

Find the information you need about lottery tickets, winning numbers, how to claim a prize, and more.

ONTARIO LOVES TO PLAY!

We surveyed our communities in 2022 to find out more about who’s playing OLG lotteries.

38%

38% of Ontario Adults are current lottery players.

This means they bought a lottery ticket at least once in the past 2 months. This represents about 5.7 million adult Ontarians.

51%

51% of Ontario adults bought a lottery tickets in the past 12 months.

About half (51%) exclusively purchased Draw Based games (e.g., LOTTO 6/49, LOTTO MAX, etc.), and did not purchase Instants or Sports games.

13%

Approximately 13% of Ontario adults were Core lottery players (buying lottery tickets once a week or more).

These players are included within the Current player definition (part of the 38%).
Current Players vs. Non-Players

According to our survey, current lottery players were more likely than non-players to be 35 or older, high school or community college educated, and retired.

Comparison Stats*

*May not total 100 due to rounding

Age Current Players Non-Players
Under 35 14% 37%
35-54 36% 30%
55 or over 50% 33%
Average Age 53 45
Gender Current Players Non-Players
Male 50% 47%
Female 49% 52%
Education Current Players Non-Players
High school or less 20% 17%
Community college 34% 23%
University/Post graduate 45% 59%
Employment Status Current Players Non-Players
Working full-time outside home 49% 51%
Working part-time 7% 9%
Retired 35% 23%
Homemaker 3% 3%
Student 2% 7%
Currently not employed 5% 5%
Household Income Current Players Non-Players
Under $50,000 17% 20%
$50,000-$99,000 29% 26%
$100,000 and over 36% 34%
Not stated/Prefer not to answer 18% 20%
Average income $129,000 $124,000

GAMES THEY PLAYED

What games did current players surveyed in December 2022 play the most?**
  • About half (52%) exclusively purchased Draw-Based games (e.g. LOTTO 6/49, LOTTO MAX, etc.), and did not purchase INSTANT or Sports games.
  • Only 6% exclusively purchased INSTANT tickets (no Draw-Based games or Sports games).
  • 37% purchased both Draw-Based and INSTANT tickets (with or without Sports).
  • 3% purchased a Sports lottery ticket (PROLINE or POOLS).

 

** Information for this report comes from OLG’s continuous tracking survey of the Ontario lottery market. Approximately 300 adults are interviewed by phone each month. Results are for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022.