The value of the bonus ball
To play the lottery you need to select a certain amount of numbers that hopefully will match the ones selected on the lottery draw. To win the top award, you have to match all six of the numbers drawn. But there is also a bonus number, a seventh number, that is drawn that also needs to be matched to win certain prizes, like the second prize.
As an example, let’s take a look at the popular 6/49 type lottery game. To play this type of lottery the player selects six numbers out of a total of 49 numbers. So you would select six numbers from 1 to 49, hoping to match all six numbers on the draw. Depending on how many numbers you match, you could win the top jackpot, second prize, or other smaller prizes. But really, there are seven numbers that are actually drawn and the seventh number is called the Bonus Number.
The Bonus Number is applied to the numbers that are drawn and certain amount of number matches, including the Bonus Number, allows you to win those prizes. Here is a good example of how a 6/49 draw is paid out, and the odds of winning, from the Lotto 649 run by Ontario Lottery and Gaming commission:
| Numbers Matched | Prize Money Won | Odds of Winning |
|---|---|---|
| 6/6 | 79.5% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 13,983,816 |
| 5/6 + Bonus | 6.0% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 2,330,636 |
| 5/6 | 5.0% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 55,492 |
| 4/6 | 9.5% of the Pools Fund | 1 in 1,033 |
| 3/6 | $10 Prize | 1 in 56.7 |
| 2 /6 + Bonus | $5 Prize | 1 in 81.2 |
| 2/6 | Free Play | 1 in 8.3 |
As you can see, if you match the six main numbers drawn, you win the top jackpot, a percentage of the total pool of lottery prize money available for that draw. Now, you would think that matching five out of six numbers would get you second prize, but no. Matching five out of six numbers actually nets you a significant smaller amount of a prize as there would be many winners. However, to reduce the number of winners and make the second prize a large amount, matching any five drawn numbers, plus the bonus number, nets you second prize. Matching five out of six numbers gets you third prize.
If you match any four drawn numbers, you get a larger portion of the prize pool, but, with there now being many more winners, the amount can be quite lower. Match three out of six and you get $10. But match any two out of the six and you only get a free play. To win the $5 prize you must match any two numbers plus the bonus number.
So not matching the bonus number actually gets you a smaller prize. This makes a big difference between winning second or third prize. Even though you only need to match six numbers to win the top jackpot, you must match a seventh number to win second prize.
As you can see, bonus numbers really do make the difference between winning a larger jackpot amount or a smaller jackpot amount. You just have to match it on the draw.