$60 Million Phone Call for Toronto Lottery Winner

Posted on: July 28, 2025, 11:37h. 

Last updated on: July 28, 2025, 11:53h.

Mark Keast Read More
Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.
  • Toronto software industry worker pockets $60 million in LOTTO 6/49 draw
  • OLG online lottery purchases include a subscription service that automatically buys tickets for you

People are slowly coming around to playing the lottery online, still greatly preferring the face-to-face convenience store experience, but you can safely put newly minted $60 million winner Bocheng Mei among the digitally converted.

Newly minted $60 million winner Bocheng Mei of Toronto collecting his winnings. (Image: OLG)

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is pushing online lotteries, which a spokesperson says is a simpler way of buying lottery tickets.

Currently, sales of lottery products from OLG retail channels account for 90% of sales versus 10% for digital sales. Since the pandemic, more people have been drifting toward digital channels. The public is responding favorably to more games being offered, the simpler “Direct Pay” option, and what Mei took advantage of – the “Never Miss A Draw” subscription option.

Mei, 26, selected that option so his tickets would be purchased automatically for each upcoming draw.

$60 Million Lottery Winfall

Mei won the $60 million LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball jackpot in the May 7, 2025, draw.

I saw lottery winners in the news and on social media, so I decided to check out OLG.ca,” he recalled during his Winner Celebration in Toronto. “I do most stuff online, so I picked my own numbers, added ENCORE, and never had to think about it again. That was because I knew my tickets would be purchased automatically.”

Then, in an age when few people pick up their mobile phone when an unknown number appears, Mei answered the call when OLG phoned, asking him to check his OLG.ca account. When a player who has registered wins, they will receive an email from OLG informing them they have won a prize.

Tickets Automatically Purchased

Mei hadn’t checked his OLG.ca account and had missed the special email.

I answered the call, and the person said they were from OLG,” he said. “I started googling them to see if they were legit, as I’ve had enough experience detecting scam calls. I knew they were really OLG representatives because they didn’t ask for any banking information. They just asked me to check my OLG.ca account. That’s when I discovered I had a winning ticket, and it said I’d won $60 million! My hands and feet went numb.”

Mei, who works in the software industry, called his parents first.

New Home Purchase

“I tried to be very calm when I told them I’d won a big prize,” he said. “They wanted to make sure I wasn’t being tricked. But they know I’m always very cautious. When I told them the prize was $60 million, I reassured them they would never need to worry about money again. I told them they could retire and enjoy life. They were so shocked to hear the news.”

Mei said he wants to buy a new home in Toronto and wants to take care of his parents. There are a few other things on his immediate bucket list as well.

“I love to learn, so I want to take advantage of various educational opportunities,” he said. “I also want to explore different cultures. So that means plenty of travel. I really want to experience the Aurora Borealis as well, which may involve trips to Finland and Iceland.”