Best scratch tickets to buy in Canada — XO Lotto digital scratch card

Which Scratch Tickets Win the Most in Canada? Odds by Province (2026)

Which scratch tickets win the most in Canada? On the numbers the lottery corporations publish themselves, almost every ticket on sale today carries overall odds between 1 in 2.8 and 1 in 4.85 of winning some prize, and the share of sales paid back rises with the ticket price: OLG lists 62.96% on a $2 ticket and 74.61% on a $100 one. Online, 20 of the 43 scratch cards at XO Lotto have a theoretical RTP of 90% or more. The tables below give the current figures for Ontario, Alberta, BC and Quebec, then the best online picks.

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Which scratch tickets win the most in Canada — XO Lotto online scratch card collection

Which Scratch Tickets Win the Most in Canada?

Four numbers decide it, and every one of them is published somewhere you can check:

  • Overall odds of winning any prize. OLG prints them on every instant ticket and lists them online; Loto-Québec lists them for every ticket and WCLC for some. OLG’s own guidance puts them at approximately 1 in 3.
  • Payout rate, the share of all ticket sales returned as prizes over the full print run. OLG calls it prize payout and Loto-Québec calls it taux de retour théorique; both publish it per ticket. WCLC and BCLC do not.
  • Top prizes still unclaimed. A ticket whose top prizes are gone is a worse buy than the same ticket on launch day. OLG, WCLC and BCLC each publish a remaining-prizes list.
  • Price tier. Payout rate climbs with price. Odds of winning something do not, which is the point OLG’s PlaySmart site makes in one line: playing more expensive games does not increase the odds of winning.

Here is how the four provinces compare on what their corporations publish, read on September 16, 2026:

ProvincePublishes a payout rateOverall odds on current ticketsBiggest top prize on saleCheapest ticket
Ontario (OLG)Yes: 62.96% to 74.73%1 in 2.91 to 1 in 7.65$10M (Elite, $100)$2
Alberta (WCLC)No1 in 2.95–4.85 (where listed)$3M (30X, $30)$1
British Columbia (BCLC)NoNot listed online$10M (Elite, $100)$1
Quebec (Loto-Québec)Yes: 52.38% to 75%1 in 2.8 to 1 in 7.8$10M (Élite, $100)$2

What stands out:

  • The highest payout rates published anywhere are on the $50 and $100 tickets: OLG’s Extreme (74.73%) and Elite (74.61%), and in Quebec Élite and 5 million$ extrême (75% each). Elite’s odds are 1 in 2.9; only Loto-Québec’s $25 Célébration 2026 lists better, 1 in 2.8, and it pairs them with the lowest return on any list, 52.38%.
  • The two worst odds anywhere are on novelty tickets: OLG’s $20 Fortune Royale at 1 in 7.65 and Loto-Québec’s $10 "50 $, 100 $ ou 150 $" at 1 in 7.8. Read the odds line before the artwork.
  • A payout rate of 67% means that for every $100 the whole print run takes in, $67 goes back out as prizes. It says nothing about your next ticket, which either wins or does not.

Which Scratch Tickets Have the Best Odds in Canada?

Odds and payout are different questions, and OLG’s price tiers show the gap clearly. The table uses every in-store INSTANT game OLG lists, grouped by price:

OLG ticket priceGamesPrize payoutOverall odds
$2262.96% to 62.97%1 in 3.67 to 1 in 3.78
$3764.93% to 65.02%1 in 3.65 to 1 in 4.38
$4167.79%1 in 3.68
$51166.9% to 67.11%1 in 3.66 to 1 in 4.84
$101069.65% to 69.96%1 in 3.46 to 1 in 3.88
$20469.67% to 69.99%1 in 3.21 to 1 in 7.65
$30469.84% to 72.64%1 in 3.42 to 1 in 4.11
$50369.91% to 74.73%1 in 3.1 to 1 in 3.15
$100174.61%1 in 2.91

What stands out:

  • Payout moves in steps with price: about 63% at $2, 65% at $3, 67% at $4 and $5, 70% from $10 to $20, and 70% to 75% from $30 up.
  • Odds barely move. OLG’s $3 Crossword (1 in 3.80) has better odds than its $30 Triple Turbo (1 in 3.99). What you buy with a bigger ticket is a bigger prize table, not a better chance of scratching a winner.
  • The best odds under $5 on any published list: Loto-Québec’s $2 Mots cachés (1 in 2.9), WCLC’s $4 Dog Gone Lucky Lines (1 in 2.95), Loto-Québec’s $3 Scrabble and Bingo (1 in 3.3), and in Ontario Cash Words ($3, 1 in 3.65).

If odds are the thing you care about most, the easiest lottery to win in Canada runs the same comparison across draw games, where the numbers look very different.

Best Scratch Tickets to Buy in Canada Online

Online scratch cards publish a theoretical RTP for each game, which makes the comparison simpler than the retail one. XO Lotto’s scratch card lobby carries 43 games for Canadian players, and their RTPs run from 50% to 97.12%, so the game you pick matters more than the fact that it is online. The 20 games at 90% or better, from our master game list dated September 11, 2026:

GameProviderPrice per cardTheoretical RTP
Wild West SpiritExpanse$197.12%
Capymania OrangeBGaming$197%
Hot GearGalaxsys$0.1097%
Shave the BeardHacksaw Gaming$192.9%
The Perfect ScratchHacksaw Gaming$292.15%
Go PandaHacksaw Gaming$192.06%
Crazy DonutsHacksaw Gaming$192.05%
Moon ScratchSpinmatic$392%
Scratch or TreatSpinmatic$292%
Gift From SantaSpinmatic$292%
Gold DiggersSpinmatic$292%
BingoooSpinmatic$1.5092%
Love BalloonSpinmatic$192%
KrampusSpinmatic$192%
Love BirdsSpinmatic$192%
Copper DiggersSpinmatic$0.5092%
Football ScratchHacksaw Gaming$191.99%
Luck and Magic ScratchBGaming$190%
Ice Scratch BronzeBGaming$190%
Scratch Alpaca BronzeBGaming$190%

What stands out:

  • Hot Gear is $0.10 a card and one of the three highest in the lobby at 97% RTP. The $5 sign-up credit is 50 plays of it.
  • Wild West Spirit (97.12%) and Capymania Orange (97%) are the top of the table at $1 a card; Wild West Spirit is a 3×3 match-three with multipliers, free spins and a Mini Jackpot.
  • The other 23 games run from 85% down to 50%. Cash Vault I is the one worth knowing about: 65% RTP, $1 a card, and a $30,000 top prize on a $1 card ("Unlock $30,000 CAD for just $1"). It is a long shot, priced like one.
  • Every RTP here is theoretical, measured over millions of plays. A single session can land anywhere.
Moon Scratch by Spinmatic at XO Lotto, a $3 scratch card with a 92% theoretical RTP

Moon Scratch is the premium pick at $3 with 92% RTP and a jackpot feature, and Scratch or Treat, also Spinmatic at 92%, is the $2 pumpkin-scratching card. Before you play any of them, how digital scratch cards work explains what the RTP figure on a game page does and does not tell you, and these scratchcard tips cover bankroll and session habits that hold up whether you play online or at the counter.

Cash Vault I by Hacksaw Gaming at XO Lotto, a $1 scratch card with a $30,000 top prize

Best Scratch Tickets to Buy in Ontario

OLG lists 43 in-store INSTANT games from $2 to $100 and publishes the prize payout and the overall odds for every one of them, a top prize for most, and a claimed and unclaimed prize count per ticket.

Which Scratch Tickets Win the Most in Ontario?

On OLG’s own figures, the tickets that pay back the most of what they take in are the $50 and $100 games, and the tickets with the best odds of winning something are also at the top of the price list. Below is a selection from every price tier, with the payout, odds and top prize as OLG publishes them:

GamePricePrize payoutOverall oddsTop prize
Elite$10074.61%1 in 2.91$10M / $1M
Extreme$5074.73%1 in 3.15$5,000,000
Bonus Bet$5069.91%1 in 3.1$50,000
30X$3072.64%1 in 3.54$3,000,000
Super Massive Multiplier$2069.99%1 in 3.21$350,000
Vault$2069.67%1 in 3.46$2,000,000
Crossword Deluxe$1069.92%1 in 3.46$250,000
$1,000,000 Ultra$1069.93%1 in 3.7$1,000,000
Xwords$566.9%1 in 3.66$100,000
Bingo Doubler$566.94%1 in 3.75$100,000
Cash for Life$467.79%1 in 3.68$1,000/wk for life
Cash Words$365.02%1 in 3.65$75,000
7X Multiplier$364.93%1 in 3.81$77,777
$’More Cash$262.97%1 in 3.67$35,000
Lucky 7s$262.96%1 in 3.78$27,777

What stands out:

  • Cash for Life is a $4 ticket, not $5, with 1 in 3.68 odds and a 67.79% payout, the highest of any OLG game under $10.
  • Two $50 games, Extreme and Let It Roll, share 1 in 3.15 odds but sit nearly five points apart on payout (74.73% against 69.96%). Same odds of a win; a very different prize table behind them.
  • The Big 30 at $30 has 1 in 4.11 odds and a $30,000 top prize; the $30 30X next to it is 1 in 3.54 with $3,000,000 on top and a higher payout. Price tier alone tells you little.

Which Scratch Tickets Have the Best Odds in Ontario?

Ranked by OLG’s published overall odds: Elite (1 in 2.91), Bonus Bet (1 in 3.10), Extreme and Let It Roll (1 in 3.15), Super Massive Multiplier (1 in 3.21). At $5 and under, Cash Words (1 in 3.65), Xwords (1 in 3.66), $’More Cash (1 in 3.67) and Bingo and Cash for Life (both 1 in 3.68) lead. At the other end, Fortune Royale (1 in 7.65), Full of $500s (1 in 4.84) and Zigzagz (1 in 4.38) are the three longest odds on the list.

The odds line counts a prize of any size, so 1 in 3.7 does not mean one ticket in four pays more than it cost.

How to Choose an Ontario Scratch Ticket in 2026

Start with OLG’s unclaimed prizes list, which shows the claimed and unclaimed prize count for each game, and skip any ticket whose top prizes are already claimed. Then compare the payout and odds lines above for the tickets still in the running at your price. New games launch through the year, and a freshly launched ticket has every prize still in the pool.

Online scratch cards show the RTP before you buy, which is the retail payout rate by another name. Scratch tickets in Canada, our guide to the whole market, covers where online play is available and how the two formats differ.

Best Scratch Tickets to Buy in Alberta

Alberta’s scratch tickets come from WCLC, the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, which lists 67 current Scratch & Win tickets from $1 to $100. WCLC publishes a top prize for many tickets and overall odds for some of them, but no payout rate, so the odds line is the only published measure of how often a ticket pays.

Which Scratch and Win Tickets Win the Most in Alberta?

These are the current WCLC tickets that carry both a published overall odds figure and a published top prize:

TicketPriceOverall oddsTop prize
Dog Gone Lucky Lines$41 in 2.95$75,000
Escape Room$101 in 3.12$250,000
Top Dog Cash$51 in 3.46$100,000
Bingo Blast$31 in 4.14$50,000
Set For Life$51 in 4.31$1,000/wk for 25 years

Other tickets with published odds but no dollar top prize on the page: Crossword Deluxe $10 (1 in 3.03), Extreme $50 (1 in 3.15), Blackjack $2 (1 in 3.92), Only In Alberta Bingo $2 (1 in 3.97), The Big $pin $5 (1 in 4.18), The Bigger Spin $10 (1 in 4.32), Crossword $3 (1 in 4.37), The Western $2 (1 in 4.54), and the two Plinko editions at $5 (1 in 4.54 and 1 in 4.85).

What stands out:

  • Dog Gone Lucky Lines, a $4 ticket, has the best odds WCLC publishes at 1 in 2.95, better than anything on OLG’s list under $50.
  • Set For Life in the West is a $5 ticket paying $1,000 a week for 25 years, at 1 in 4.31. The BC version of the same name pays a $675,000 top prize.
  • Two tickets on the list carry an Only In Alberta label: Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania ($7, $175,000 top prize) and Only In Alberta Bingo ($2, 1 in 3.97).

Top Prizes by Price on Alberta Scratch Tickets

PriceTicketTop prize
$1Monopoly 10X$10,000
$2Barnyard Blitz$25,000
$3Boujee Buck$$50,000
$4Blackjack Prestige$80,000
$5Joker’s Wild$100,000
$7Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania (Only In Alberta)$175,000
$10$1,000,000 Ultra$1,000,000
$20Vault$2,000,000
$3030X$3,000,000
$50Diamond Mine 50X$750,000
$100Luxe Multiplier100x your prize

WCLC posts a Prizes Remaining page for its Scratch & Win tickets; check it before buying anything at $10 or above. And if a ticket wins, how to claim lottery winnings in Canada walks through the process by prize size.

Best Scratch Tickets to Buy in BC

BCLC runs Scratch & Win in British Columbia and lists 79 current tickets from $1 to $100 with the price, top prize and launch date for each. The online list does not show overall odds, and BCLC does not publish a payout rate, so the online comparison in BC is about top prize and how recently the ticket launched.

Which Scratch and Win Tickets Win the Most in British Columbia?

TicketPriceTop prizeLaunched
Cash Vault$1$10,000Aug 2026
The Whole Enchilada$2$20,000Aug 2026
Crossword$2$25,000Apr 2026
Oh Canada$3$50,000Jun 2026
Set for Life$5$675,000Jun 2026
The Big Spin$5$500,000Jan 2026
Joker’s Card$5$100,000Aug 2026
$1,000,000 Ultra$10$1,000,000Jan 2026
Vault$20$2,000,000Apr 2026
Dazzling Dollars$20$200,000Aug 2026
Bingo Buddy$20$150,000Aug 2026
30X$30$3,000,000Dec 2025
Extreme$50$5,000,000Jun 2025
Elite$100$10,000,000Jun 2026

What stands out:

  • BC’s $5 Set for Life pays a $675,000 top prize, and BCLC’s own winners list shows it paid out on September 11, 2026 in Fort Nelson.
  • The $10 $1,000,000 Ultra produced a $1,000,000 winner in Port Coquitlam on August 12, 2026, and a $1 Cash Vault ticket paid $10,000 in Chilliwack on August 28, 2026.
  • Five of the tickets above launched in August 2026 (Cash Vault, The Whole Enchilada, Joker’s Card, Dazzling Dollars and Bingo Buddy), which makes them the newest prize pools on the list.

BC is also where XO Lotto’s online scratch cards are available, and the RTP on each game page is the figure BCLC’s list leaves out. Players 19+ in BC can start with 50 free scratch cards and compare the two formats side by side.

Best Scratch Tickets to Buy in Quebec

Loto-Québec publishes the cost, top prize, odds of winning any prize and theoretical return rate (taux de retour théorique) for each of its 34 in-store billets à gratter. The current list, by price:

TicketPriceTop prizeOdds (any prize)Theoretical return
Élite$100$10,000,0001 in 2.975%
5 million$ extrême$50$5,000,0001 in 3.275%
30X$30$3,000,0001 in 3.5473%
Maxi Gain$30$300,0001 in 3.970%
La Voûte$20$2,000,0001 in 3.570%
Gagnant à vie Édition spéciale$20$1,000/wk for life1 in 3.363.33%
Ultra$10$1,000,0001 in 3.770%
Pyramide$10$2,000,0001 in 3.769%
Années 90$10$90,0001 in 3.768%
Plinko$5$500,0001 in 467%
777$5$77,7771 in 3.667%
Super Jeu de mots$5$50,0001 in 3.467%
Gagnant à vie$5$1,000/wk for life1 in 3.563.5%
Scrabble$3$30,0001 in 3.363%
Jeu de mots$3$25,0001 in 3.563%
Bingo$3$25,0001 in 3.359.47%
Mots cachés$2$10,0001 in 2.962%
Cornichons$2$10,0001 in 3.761%
777 ($2)$2$10,0001 in 3.957.8%

What stands out:

  • Mots cachés at $2 has 1 in 2.9 odds, matching the $100 Élite, with a 62% return. It is the best-odds cheap ticket in the country on published data.
  • Gagnant à vie is $5 (1 in 3.5, 63.5% return); the $20 Édition spéciale of the same game is 1 in 3.3 at 63.33%. Both pay $1,000 a week for life.
  • The $25 Célébration 2026 has the lowest theoretical return Loto-Québec publishes, 52.38%, against a 75% return on the $50 and $100 tickets.

How to Pick a Scratch Ticket That Still Has Prizes Left

Whichever province you buy in, the same short routine gets you a better ticket than pointing at the counter:

  • Check the remaining-prizes page first. OLG, WCLC and BCLC each publish one. A $10 ticket with no top prizes left is a $10 ticket with a smaller prize table than the one printed on it.
  • Read the odds line on the back. OLG prints it on every ticket, and Loto-Québec and WCLC list it online. If it says 1 in 4.85, as one current WCLC ticket does, most of the tickets in that pack are not winners.
  • Prefer a recent launch at your price. New tickets start with a full pool; BCLC and WCLC list launch dates.
  • Decide the budget before the store. A set number, decided in advance, keeps a $5 habit at $5.

Prizes from a provincial lottery, including scratch tickets, are not taxed in Canada, so a $50,000 top prize is $50,000 in hand; taxes on lottery winnings in Canada covers the exceptions, such as interest earned on the money afterwards. And if you like the Plinko tickets that OLG, WCLC and Loto-Québec all sell, the Plinko scratch ticket guide compares them with the online version.

More Instant Win Games at XO Lotto

Crash and fast games at XO Lotto including Aviator, Plinko and Spaceman

If the appeal of a scratch ticket is the instant result, crash games such as Aviator and Spaceman give you the same instant result in a different format, and fast games like Plinko, Mines and Keno settle just as fast. Is Plinko legit? explains how to check a game’s licence and published RTP before you play it, and how a Plinko chip win is decided covers the mechanics.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Scratch Tickets in Canada

Which scratch tickets win the most in Canada?

On the corporations’ published figures, the highest payout rates in Canada are on the $50 and $100 tickets: OLG’s Extreme (74.73%) and Elite (74.61%), and Loto-Québec’s Élite and 5 million$ extrême (75%). Elite’s odds are 1 in 2.9. Among cheap tickets, Loto-Québec’s $2 Mots cachés (1 in 2.9) and WCLC’s $4 Dog Gone Lucky Lines (1 in 2.95) have the best published odds. Online, 20 of the 43 scratch cards at XO Lotto have a theoretical RTP of 90% or more.

Which scratch tickets have the best odds in Canada?

Loto-Québec’s $25 Célébration 2026 lists the shortest odds in Canada at 1 in 2.8, followed by the $100 Elite at 1 in 2.91 in Ontario and 1 in 2.9 in Quebec. Under $5, the leaders are Mots cachés ($2, Quebec, 1 in 2.9), Dog Gone Lucky Lines ($4, WCLC, 1 in 2.95), Scrabble and Bingo ($3, Quebec, 1 in 3.3) and Cash Words ($3, OLG, 1 in 3.65). Odds cover a prize of any size.

Which scratch tickets win the most in Ontario?

By OLG’s published prize payout, the $50 Extreme (74.73%) and $100 Elite (74.61%) return the most of what they take in, and Elite also has the best odds at 1 in 2.91. Under $10, Cash for Life ($4, 67.79%, 1 in 3.68) has the highest payout and Cash Words ($3, 1 in 3.65) the best odds. Check OLG’s unclaimed prizes list before buying any ticket at $10 or more.

What are the best scratch tickets to buy in Alberta?

On WCLC’s published odds, Dog Gone Lucky Lines ($4, 1 in 2.95, $75,000 top prize) and Escape Room ($10, 1 in 3.12, $250,000) lead the current list. Set For Life ($5, 1 in 4.31) pays $1,000 a week for 25 years. WCLC does not publish a payout rate, so odds and the Prizes Remaining page are the two figures to compare.

Is there a trick to picking scratch tickets?

No trick changes the odds printed on the ticket, but three checks change what you get for the money: look at the corporation’s remaining-prizes list so you are not buying a ticket whose top prizes are gone, read the overall odds line on the back, and prefer a recently launched ticket at your price. Buying more expensive tickets raises the payout rate, not the chance of winning something.

Do online scratch cards have better odds than store-bought?

It depends on the game, not the format. Online scratch cards publish a theoretical RTP per game; at XO Lotto the range is 50% to 97.12%, with 20 of 43 games at 90% or more. Retail payout rates run from about 52% to 75% where they are published (OLG and Loto-Québec). A 97% online card returns more over time than any retail ticket; a 50% one returns less. Compare the figure on the game page before you play.

Are scratch ticket winnings taxed in Canada?

No. Prizes from provincial lottery scratch tickets are not taxed in Canada, so a $100,000 top prize is paid in full. Interest or investment income earned on the money afterwards is taxable. Taxes on lottery winnings in Canada covers the details.

Can I buy scratch tickets online in Canada?

OLG and BCLC both sell instant games online in their own provinces, and online scratch cards from providers such as Hacksaw Gaming, Spinmatic and BGaming are available at XO Lotto where it operates. New players get $5 in credit, enough for 50 plays of a $0.10 card, with no deposit; scratch tickets in Canada explains how online play works province by province.

That is the whole map: published odds and payouts for the retail tickets, and a per-game RTP for the online ones. If you want to try the online side, XO Lotto’s $5 sign-up credit covers 50 free plays of Hot Gear at 97% RTP, no deposit needed, for players 19+ where XO Lotto operates.

Related Guides:

The house edge does not go away, so treat a session as money spent. You must be 19+ to play. XO Lotto’s Responsible Gambling page has the limit tools, and the Responsible Gambling Council can help if gambling stops feeling optional.

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