Canada Encore Review: A Fantastic Add-On Game

With the variety of lottery games available today, there is no lack of excitement when purchasing a ticket for an upcoming draw. This, however, is not always the opinion of many lottery operators—who feel the excitement can be cranked up to 11 with great add-on games for some of their biggest draws. In this Canada Encore review, we will look at a popular Canadian lottery add-on that offers excellent prizes and even better chances of winning them.

What Is Encore?

Encore is a supplementary game to Canada’s best lotteries. The game is similar to the likes of Powerball Plus and allows you a second chance at winning something, even if your chosen lottery numbers fall short and don’t win you anything. The game is entirely optional, and you have full control of whether or not you would like to activate it when purchasing your lottery ticket.

While the game is available throughout Canada, it is mainly known as Encore only in Ontario. In other parts of the country it takes on the guises of Tag or Extra. Draws take place on the same days as the lottery they are played with and occur directly after the main draw has concluded.

Lotteries That Support Encore

You will be happy to know that all the biggest Canadian lotto games support Encore—which makes these great games even more incredible. The list of supported lotteries includes:

Lotto 6/49
Lotto Max
Daily Grand
Ontario 49
Lottario
Daily Keno
Pick 4
Pick 3
Pick 2

How Does Encore Work?

To play Encore, all that you need to do is select the option to include the game on your ticket when you are purchasing your lines for the next lottery draw. Doing this will enable the add-on on your ticket and print an Encore number on your ticket. This number is entirely random and is decided upon by a random number generator, so players have no say over what it is. Once you have your shiny new lottery ticket—with Encore included—you can wait until the after the main lottery draw has been completed and the Encore draw takes place to see if you are a winner.

If all of your numbers from right to left match those that are drawn in the exact order they are drawn, you win the top prize. However, you can still win by matching fewer numbers, by matching numbers from left to right, and by matching specific numbers. For all the variations, see the table below.

What Does Encore Cost?

As you may imagine, there is a small additional cost to having Encore added to your ticket—although it is probably less than you are expecting for this great extra. Each Encore number added to your ticket will cost you an additional $1 on top of the cost of your ticket. This is an entirely reasonable price and can easily be justified when looking at what you can win from the additional draw.

Prizes and Odds of Winning

There are 22 different ways that you can win with a single Encore number. Each of these ways has its own odds of winning and prize. The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 9.17—which are really good.

We have detailed each of the 22 ways of winning below alongside what you could possibly win and your odds of doing so.

Way to Win (Numbers to match)	Example	Prize Amount	Odds of Winning
All 7	1234567	$1 million	1 in 10,000,000
Right to Left – Last 6	*234567	$100,000	1 in 1,111,111
Right to Left – Last 5	**34567	$1,000	1 in 111,111
Right to Left – Last 4	***4567	$100	1 in 11,223
Right to Left – Last 3	****567	$10	1 in 1,122
Right to Left – Last 2	*****67	$5	1 in 112
Right to Left – Last 1	******7	$2	1 in 11.22
Left to Right – First 6	123456*	$10,000	1 in 1,111,111
Left to Right – First 5	12345**	$500	1 in 123,457
Left to Right – First 4	1234***	$50	1 in 12,346
Left to Right – First 3	123****	$10	1 in 1,235
Left to Right – First 2	12*****	$5	1 in 123.46
First 5 + Last	12345*7	$502	1 in 1,111,111
First 4 + Last 2	1234*67	$55	1 in 1,111,111
First 4 + Last	1234**7	$52	1 in 123,457
First 3 + Last 3	123*567	$20	1 in 1,111,111
First 3 + Last 2	123**67	$15	1 in 123,457
First 3 + Last	123***7	$12	1 in 12,346
First 2 + Last 4	12*4567	$105	1 in 1,111,111
First 2 + Last 3	12**567	$15	1 in 123,457
First 2 + Last 2	12***67	$10	1 in 12,346
First 2 + Last	12****7	$7	1 in 1,235

Numbers marked with a * are presumed incorrect.

How to Claim Your Encore Winnings

Because Encore has its own draw, is printed on a lottery ticket, and has winners—just like any other lottery—claiming your prize is also done in the same way. If you play using an online lottery website, your winnings will likely be automatically credited to your player account (depending on the rules of the site). But if you have purchased a physical ticket from a retailer, you will need to go about the usual channels of claiming your prize—either by taking it to an authorised retailer for smaller amounts or by contacting the lottery operator if you hit the jackpot.

Conclusion—Encore Add-on

Encore is a fantastic addition to a range of already great lottery games in Canada and is a lot of fun to play because of how unique it is. And with so many different ways to win—each of which has decent prizes and odds of winning—you are likelier to win by playing Encore than the primary lottery you added Encore to. This makes this add-on a must for any lottery ticket that you plan on purchasing and is proof of how lottery operators in Canada are continually looking for ways to boost the experience offered by the exciting games they offer.