WCLC Exposed — Lots of Promise, Missing Functionalities
WCLC Review
The Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC) is a pretty popular entity if you live in that part of the world and you like games of luck.
Canada, as a whole, is well-known for digital innovation in the world of lotteries. Many local entities have their own websites and online platforms, facilitating the acquisition of those much-coveted lottery tickets. Unfortunately, Western Canadians aren’t in a lot of luck when it comes to such possibilities. Chances for online ticket buying are pretty limited, and there are lots of conditions.
Needless to say, that’s a pity, especially when the rest of Canada is doing oh-so well in the realm of online ticket sales.
So, what exactly is WCLC doing and not doing through its online platform? While local players have access to a couple of good services, there’s still a lot left to be desired.
Find out why people prefer 24Lottos to WCLC
Games at WCLC.com
The Western Canada Lottery is the entity that organizes and supervises the execution of all locally-represented games of luck.
So, whether you’re interested in WCLC Lotto Max or WCLC 649, they are the guys for you. Not only that, the portfolio of the Western Canada Lottery Corporation brags a range of additional opportunities like Daily Grand, Western Max, Western 6/49, Keno, Poker Lotto, and others.
Now, the big question remains unanswered – can you play the WCLC lottery online? The WCLC website itself does NOT make such opportunities available. And if you take one look at it, you’ll know that you have to keep your expectations pretty low. The design is severely outdated, and it definitely doesn’t look like the official online representation of an actual lottery entity.
If you are a Manitoba resident, you’re the only one in luck as far as Western Canadian lotteries go. There is a platform called PlayNow.com, and it allows those from Manitoba to buy Lotto Max, Lotto 6/49, Western Max, and Western 6/49 tickets online.
BCLC rather than WCLC operates that platform. Hence, the decision is once again made on a regional level to offer players some convenience and modernity.
Everyone else living in Western Canada is for now restricted to old-school, offline ticket buying. We really hope that the situation will change shortly as WCLC has some really popular and beloved games in its portfolio.
WCLC and Claiming Your Prizes
Since WCLC winners do not have an opportunity to play the lottery online, they’re also severely limited when claiming a prize (surprise, surprise!).
Other than that, the prize claim procedures are quite straightforward.
Sums of up to 1,000 Canadian dollars can be claimed immediately at any lottery retail venue. The player will need to present the winning ticket. Sums of over 1,000 dollars will need to be cashed out at the WCLC prize payout office.
Prize claims by mail are also possible. If you’re interested in any of these options, you can give the WCLC hotline a call to learn more about the respective procedure.
Who Can Play?
WCLC lottery games are open to anyone who meets the local legal requirements.
If you live in Western Canada and you’re considered an adult by law, you are in luck. Ticket purchases are readily available.
Sadly, you cannot buy online tickets unless you live in Manitoba. The online platform that works locally does not accept entries from outside of the province. If you live in another part of Canada or you are a resident of another country, you will have no opportunity to test out the lucrative nature of Western Canadian lottery games.
WCLC Lotto: Who’s Behind It?
The Western Canada Lottery Corporation is obviously the entity behind the WCLC website.
WCLC was set up as a non-profit organization back in 1974. It operates lottery and gaming-related activities, including sports betting on top of the range of draw-style games.
As of now, its members are the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
All of this information can help you rest assured that the website and the games linked to it are legit. WCLC is run under strict governmental regulations about playing lotteries and distributing prizes. There are whatsoever no red flags or reasons to worry.
The same applies to the PlayNow portal, as it works under strict regulations in Manitoba to ensure fairness and transparency.
Other Bits and Pieces
There are several other characteristics worth putting under our magnifying glass.
The first one is the so-called WCLC pools. A pool is a form of group play that allows multiple people to put their resources together in an attempt to win bigger (and more) prizes from the lottery.
Group play is officially defined under the WCLC terms and conditions, which is a good thing. There have been numerous instances of syndicate play or pools falling apart after winning. One member will end up claiming the money for themselves, which will eventually contribute to lengthy and costly legal battles.
WCLC pools start with the signing of a Group Buy Agreement (available via the website) that defines who’s buying what and how the money will be split later on. Obviously, this document doesn’t prevent a pool member from acting shady later on, but it gives the “partnership” a framework.
WCLC offers another interesting feature that’s called “play by subscription.” Play by subscription is available to both individual fans of the lottery and pools.
WCLC lotto makes it possible to engage in advance ticket buying for a period of up to a year. Subscriptions are available for Lotto Max, Lotto 6/49, Western Max, Western 6/49, and Extra. Luckily, a subscription can be bought online. Keep in mind, however, that some time will be needed for the processing of the subscription. As a result, a player may not be entered into an upcoming drawing. A single subscription can be activated for anywhere between 14 and 104 drawings. There are also combo offers, allowing the purchase of subscription packages for more than one game.
Why You Should Register with WCLC
Pros:
An official regional entity that offers all of the local Canadian games
Manitoba residents have the option to buy their lottery tickets online
There are some nice added perks for dedicated lottery players
Pools (group play) are available
Subscriptions make it possible for the most dedicated lottery fans to ensure advance play in their favorite game for up to one year
A pretty simple and straightforward prize claim procedure
Why You Shouldn’t Register with WCLC
Cons:
Online ticket buying is still not possible in the vast majority of the Western Canada territory
There are restrictions for online play in Manitoba, and lotto enthusiasts out of the state cannot participate
The WCLC website design is very dated and lacking in functionality
Is WCLCorporation Legit?
As the final part of our research, we tried to find WCLC reviews online to discover whether someone has had an incredibly great or a pretty disappointing experience with the portal. We didn’t come across any major red flags or serious complaints. If you have a certain kind of experience that you’d like to share with everyone, you can leave that information in a comment within this article.
So, to sum things up – WCLC has a lot of promise, but it misses the mark in more than one way. This was a surprise to us, especially considering how other regional agents in Canada are performing within the realm of digitization.
Should you give WCLC lotteries a try? The following list of advantages and shortcomings will help you make up your mind.
The chances are that things will change in the future. Right now, WCLC does not have that much to offer in terms of a WCLC app or a one-stop-shop WCLC home page. If you want to give WCLC lotteries a try, you should definitely go ahead. Everything appears to be legit, even though WCLC still sticks to an old-school operational approach.
Bonny Ingrouville
I have been playing the lotto for years. Max and 6-49 both regional games and national. I have played Poker Lotto since its inception. What a horrible game that is. I won 80 dollars once, most of the time nothing. I live in Regina and i watch the wins very closely for Poker Lotto. Notice how often tiny little hamlets in the province win again and again and yet a city the size of Regina rarely wins anything major. And the nightly draw; biggest joke ever!! Today i read questions and reviews from 2018 (just what i found online) from the Atlantic provinces. Those same reviews and questions hold true today, 5 yrs later. Ontario, Quebec and Alberta win the huge jackpots. The rest of us all subsidize those wins. So many people have requested a televised ball drop in real time on You Tube, which would be so easy to do. And in addition, people have requested that Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and BC have their own lotto. Then Manitoba, Sask., and Atlantic provinces have our own lotto games. Perhaps we don’t have the population per province for jackpots in the high millions but together we would see wins never experienced before being lumped in with Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and BC. I do feel that WCLC has more control over the games than we could ever know. With computerization and a programmers skill, just about anything is possible. The time is well overdue for WCLC to be forthcoming with the public. After all if everyone stopped playing huge revenues would be lost. So please, be FAIR and spread the wealth or make positive changes!!
Wanda Lampman
I’d like to see the balls come back & everyone be abe to see them drop. At a set time everyone can tune in and let’s see the legitimacy of a draw not a computerized process.
Thank you..
Gamaliel Perez
The draws are computerized. The pick 3 draw is probably using “Near Miss Program” commonly used by casino slot machines. I myself documented my bets and their results for 6 straight years. Everyday I always get 2 numbers right. That is proof of near miss program. They should go back to ball draws. They use Near Miss Program so player gets addicted to the game. This is not fair.
Stan Perreault
You have better luck being hit by a meteorite than winning anything over 2$ on most scratch lottery ticket purchases. Seriously. Really seriously not worth buying. PERIOD.
Dwayne Thomas
Worst lotteries in Canada, too busy fighting over yearly bonuses and making scam non winning subsidized tickets to screw over the very people paying their salaries to even notice, Manitoba needs to leave these crooks and create their own lotteries. You guys are horrible at you jobs you created out of lies and corruption. Worst lottery in Canada ever. YOU NEVER WIN IF YOUR BORN HERE THEY KEEP FOR THEMSELVES!!!!!