The Western Canada Lottery Corporation is feeling the economic pinch that COVID19 has presented as not as many are buying lottery tickets even though the jackpots are still big as is the case Friday with the Lotto Max top prize standing at 70 million dollars.

WCLC spokesperson Kevin Van Egdom says there are several reasons for this with one of them being some retailers are no longer offering lottery sales because they are closed with others simply deciding not to do so for the protection of their workers.

He says one thing that has become popular over the last month is playing by subscription.

“We are definitely seeing an increase in that.” Van Egdom said. “With the subscription, you don’t have to go to the store, you can order it online or over the phone and leave everything to us including checking the numbers and getting any prizes you may collect to you.”

As for how much sales have dropped since our usual routine was thrown into chaos, Van Egdom says it is hard to tell. He says obviously SportSelect has had zero sales since there are no games being played.

If you should get a sizable winner, you may find it difficult for a retailer to dish out that payment for various reasons.  Van Egdom says the WCLC has extended claim deadlines so you can keep the ticket in a drawer and cash it out when the pandemic is over or you can mail it to them and get a cheque back as soon as possible.