Integrity and accuracy

Like many Canadian and American lottery corporations, Loto-Québec is now conducting all its lottery draws electronically. Only certain televised draws are conducted using a ball machine.

 Electronic draws

The basis for electronic draws (an electronic tumbler) is the same as that for the physical ball machine, i.e. the draws are as secure and rigorous, and the outcome is the result of chance. To conduct an electronic draw, we use a computerized random number generator that has been tested and certified by an independent third party recognized for its expertise in the field. The system was designed to be as random as a ball machine draw, and results are verified by external auditors who use their own system, which is independent from that of Loto-Québec.

1. After the deadline for wagers, these wagers are verified and confirmed between Loto-Québec’s system and that of the external auditor.
2. The draw is triggered once eligible wagers have been confirmed between Loto-Québec’s system and that of the external auditor. The draw is randomly conducted using the electronic tumbler. The latter produces draw results at random, which are then verified and confirmed by the external auditor using a system that is independent from Loto-Québec’s.
   For example, to determine the winning number for Extra by electronic draw, as for a ball machine draw, Loto-Québec conducts 7 random draws, each among all digits from 0 to 9, to form in order the winning number. Thus, each digit has an equal chance of being drawn in each draw.
3. Once chance has done its work, the auditors review and countersign the official draw reports.
4. Following strict security standards and procedures, Loto-Québec’s draw team then transmits and distributes the draw results via Loto-Québec’s web site and other means of publication to make them known to the public as quickly as possible.

Ball machine draws

1. A standard draw begins with the ball machine operator opening the room where the ball machines and command console are stored. Representatives of two teams, made up of Loto-Québec employees and external auditors, together open the safe containing the balls used for draws. Each team knows one part of the combination to the safe.
2. While the operator sets up the ball machines, connects the electric cables that link them to the command console and performs various tests to ensure that the machinery is operational, the auditors and the draw supervisor examine the balls before placing them into the insertion mechanism of each ball machine, where they are again verified once in place.
3. Once wagers have been closed and verified, in response to a signal from the draw supervisor, the operator sets the ball insertion mechanism in motion and selects the number of balls to be drawn from each ball machine. Also on a signal from the draw supervisor and after tumbling the balls at high speed for a minimum of five seconds, the operator initiates the release of the balls down the chutes.
4. Once chance has done its work, the auditors review and countersign the official draw reports. Next, still attended by the auditors, the balls are examined once more after they are inserted in locked cases and returned to their safe.
5. Following strict security standards and procedures, Loto-Québec’s draw team then transmits and distributes the draw results via Loto-Québec’s web site and other means of publication to make them known to the public as quickly as possible.

Special procedure for Lotto Max, Lotto 6/49 and Grande Vie

The draws for Lotto Max, Lotto 6/49 and Grande Vie, three Canada-wide lotteries, take place in Toronto. Loto-Québec and the country’s four other lottery corporations meet under the auspices of the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation* (ILC), where they submit to procedures that are similar in terms of security and integrity. Thus, before every draw, each corporation notifies the ILC in Toronto once it has closed off the participating wagers in its territory.

Once the draw has taken place, the ILC notifies each of the participating lottery corporations of the winning draw numbers. These corporations then run the results through their computer systems to determine the number of winners in their territory. Afterwards, the corporations send this information to the ILC so it can establish the countrywide prize division, which is announced through the Loto-Québec Web site, Loto-Québec’s Lotteries application, certain newspapers and other means of communication. Each draw is conducted under the constant vigilance of external auditors from Toronto, together with those of the lottery corporations involved.

*Located in Toronto, the ILC is a partnership of Canada’s five lottery corporations: Loto-Québec, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation.

Integrity is also a priority in the process for printing scratch tickets.

Today, most lottery tickets are printed using flexographic presses, which use flexible plaques and quick-drying liquid ink to produce visual elements in colour and the inkjet printing of variable information. A varnish is added to cover variable information so consumers can later remove the “scratchable” ink on the game areas.

Throughout the printing process, a team of technicians oversees quality control to evaluate the intrinsic security of the tickets at all stages of production. These specialists check the variable information, the overprinting and the finished product.

Printing and random distribution of the tickets is the responsibility of the printer. The tickets are first printed in rolls, cut and finally packed in booklets.

Ticket distribution to retailers

Once the printer has checked that the prize structure has been respected, the booklets are placed in boxes and delivered to Loto-Québec’s highly secured warehouse. It is from this location that the tickets are shipped to Loto-Québec’s retailers.

At no time is it possible to know in which boxes the winning tickets for the grand prize or any other prizes are located. In fact, the Corporation is dedicated to ensuring the greatest integrity at all times with regard to the distribution and sale of its lottery tickets.

1. Listen for the musical tones.
Listen carefully when you validate your ticket. If you’ve won a prize, the terminal will play particular musical notes. Pay attention because this gives you an auditory signal that you have a winning ticket. The following musical notes indicate the amount you’ve won:

• Winner -$600 or less
• Winner - more than $600
• Winner - one or several free tickets

2. Watch the terminal’s consumer display screen.
When you validate your ticket, the consumer display screen should be visible at all times. It will tell you if your ticket is a winner and how much you’ve won.

3. Ask for your ticket and the matching validation slip.
As soon as your ticket has been validated, the retailer must return your ticket and the matching validation slip printed from the terminal. Make sure the control number on your ticket corresponds to the one on the validation slip.

Online gaming is offered on Loto-Québec’s legal, authentic and secure gaming platform. Go to the Security and Integrity section of the gaming website to learn more.

The paper draw-based lottery tickets are printed on may have a different look. 

What you need to know

• The new paper only has one blue stripe on the left side of the ticket.
• The transition from the old paper to the new will be gradual over the next few months.
• The old paper will still be in use during the transition period.

All tickets sold at a terminal can be checked at a retailer, whether they’re printed on the old paper or the new.