How to Play BC/49 – Rules, Odds & Prizes
BC/49 $1 buys one selection of six numbers from 1–49 — 6 numbers from 1–49. Draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday at about 10:30 PM ET. The odds of the top prize are 1 in 13,983,816, and about 1 in 6.6 of winning any prize.
Playing BC/49, step by step
- Buy a ticket — at any lottery retailer in the game's region, or online through your provincial lottery site (PlayNow.com in BC, for example). $1 buys one selection of six numbers from 1–49.
- Pick your numbers — choose 6 numbers from 1 to 49, or take a Quick Pick and let the terminal choose randomly. Both have identical odds.
- Consider the add-on — most regions offer one (Extra in BC, EXTRA in Western Canada, TAG in Atlantic Canada) for an extra $1, drawn the same night.
- Keep your ticket safe — sign the back. Draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday at about 10:30 PM ET; sales cut off shortly before the draw.
- Check the results — numbers appear on our BC/49 page within minutes, or run every line through the ticket checker with the actual payouts of your draw.
What makes BC/49 different
A fixed $2 Million jackpot every draw at a $1 price — the same 6/49 odds as the national game for a third of the cost, exclusive to British Columbia.
Odds: top prize 1 in 13,983,816; any prize about 1 in 6.6. Compare every Canadian game on our odds comparison.
Prize tiers — with the actual payouts of the latest draw
| Match | Winners (Jul 25) | Prize paid |
|---|---|---|
| 6/6 | 0 | $2,000,000.00 |
| 5/6+Bonus | 0 | $75,000.00 |
| 5/6 | 6 | $750.00 |
| 4/6 | 326 | $75.00 |
| 3/6 | 6,130 | $10.00 |
| 2/6+Bonus | 5,815 | $5.00 |
Many tiers are pari-mutuel — a share of sales split among winners — so amounts change every draw. The table shows the real payouts of the July 25, 2026 draw; see any draw's exact figures in the archive.
Claiming a prize
- Minimum age — 18 in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Québec; 19 in British Columbia and Atlantic Canada.
- Winnings are tax-free — Canadian lottery prizes are paid in full; only future investment income on them is taxable.
- Expiry — prizes generally expire 12 months after the draw date. Old ticket in a drawer? Check it against every stored draw.
- Validate officially — small prizes at any retailer; large prizes through your regional lottery corporation, and the steps differ by province: see how to claim a prize. Our results are unofficial — always validate before discarding a ticket.
Frequently asked questions
What time is the BC/49 draw?
BC/49 draws every Wednesday and Saturday at approximately 10:30 PM Eastern Time. Winning numbers are published within minutes of the draw; sales cut off shortly before the draw and the exact cut-off varies by province.
What are the odds of winning BC/49?
The top prize odds are 1 in 13,983,816 and the odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 6.6. No strategy, pattern or "hot number" changes these odds — every combination is equally likely in every draw.
Is Quick Pick better than choosing my own numbers?
Statistically they are identical — every combination has the same probability. The only practical difference: popular hand-picked combinations (dates, sequences) are shared by more players, so a pari-mutuel prize could be split more ways.