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How group play works

Português

Play together and split fairly. A play649 group pools everyone's numbers for one draw and keeps a clear record of who put in how much and what share of any prize each person gets.

To start or join a group you need a free play649 account. It only takes your email.

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Step by step

  1. Join a group for a draw

    Each group plays one draw of one game: Lotto 6/49, Ontario 49, Totoloto or EuroMillions. The original play649 ran one open group per draw, organised by the site. On the original site, joining closed at 18:00 on draw day for Lotto 6/49 and Ontario 49, and at 13:00 for Totoloto and EuroMillions.

  2. Record your contribution

    Each member records one contribution of between 5 and 1,000 in the game's currency (CAD or EUR), once per group. Everyone can see the group total and the highest and lowest contributions.

  3. Pick your numbers

    In Lotto 6/49 and Ontario 49 groups, each member picks 6 numbers from 1 to 49.

  4. The group's numbers are ranked

    All picks are counted. The numbers chosen by the most members come first. Ties keep the order they were picked in: members in the order they joined, then each member's numbers from lowest to highest.

  5. Tickets are built from the favourites

    The organiser arranges the most popular numbers into full wheels, reduced wheels or random lines until the group total is used up. If the popular numbers run out, random numbers fill the gaps. Every ticket is listed for all members to see.

  6. Shares follow contributions

    Your share is your contribution divided by the group total. Shares are recalculated each time someone joins. The original play649 kept 5% of each group as its fee; the new play649 takes nothing, so shares add up to 100%.

  7. Prizes are split by share

    If the group wins, each member's part is the group's total winnings multiplied by their share, rounded to the cent. The participant list shows each member's contribution, share, winnings and numbers.

Example

Three friends put in 10, 20 and 20: the group total is 50, so their shares are 20%, 40% and 40%. If the group wins 250, they get 50, 100 and 100.

MemberPut inSharePrize part
Ana1020%50
Bruno2040%100
Carla2040%100
Total50100%250

Ready to play together?

Sign in or create a free account with your email to start a group for a draw or join an open one.

Start or join a group

Play responsibly

You must be 18 or older to play the lottery in Ontario (OLG) and in Portugal (Jogos Santa Casa); other provinces set their own minimum age. Agree a budget as a group, never chase losses, and only put in what you can afford to lose.

Help and advice:

These rules describe how group play worked on the original play649 site.