Wintario

Wintario was the first lottery game offered by the Ontario Lottery Corporation in Ontario, Canada.

Beginning in May 1975, Wintario, Ontario's flagship lottery was born. Conceived by Ontario's Progressive Conservative Government, Wintario came from an idea that it could raise money for worthwhile community recreational projects from which the province could benefit. The first draw was held from the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto on May 15, 1975 and broadcast on television with Fred Davis and Charlie Farquharson, Don Harron's alter ego. He came up with Wintario's first button presser selected from the audience. It was decided that Wintario draw its winning numbers in communities that the Ministries of Tourism and Recreation and Citizenship and Culture helped through lottery funds.

The next nine Wintario draws were not televised, but took place in communities such as Plantagenet, Wallaceburg, Bracebridge, Oakville and St. Catharines, to name a few. In October 1975, in Sault Ste. Marie, the draw began broadcasting on the Global Television Network, hosted initially by Fred Davis and Faye Dance.

Greg Beresford replaced Davis when he retired in October 1980. Replacement co-hosts for Dance and Beresford were Pam Henry and CHFI-FM's Sandy Hoyt. Bill Lawrence also filled in during the early 1980s.

The Ontario Lottery Corporation had so many requests from towns to host the draw show that many waited for an arena to be built so that Wintario could visit. Draws were held in high schools, theatres, arenas, community centres, and odd places. For instance, one draw was held in a barn in Varna in 1986. Another draw was held on the MS Chi-Cheemaun ferry docked at Tobermory in the summer of 1984. Wintario went to festivals, centennial celebrations and openings of new arenas, launched the annual Ontario plowing matches each fall, kicked off fiddle and step dancing competitions, and celebrated Ontario's bicentennial celebrations in 1984. Wintario during summer months did draws from outdoor sites in Niagara Falls, Kingston, and Barrie. Both Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and Ottawa's SuperEX were lucky to have hosted Wintario annually to launch their respective summer fairs.

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