Two groups fighting over a $50 million lotto jackpot have agreed through their lawyers to split the prize.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced Monday that it will pay more than $31 million to a group of 19 Bell employees, who were the original claimants to the Lotto Max prize from the New Year's Eve draw. That works out to more than $1.6 million per person.

The remainder of the prize, more than $18 million, will be paid to court, where it will be held until a judge decides whether a group of 11 additional claimants is entitled to a share of the money.

"I'm very happy that these legitimate owners of the winning ticket are able to collect at least a portion," Saul Glober, lawyer for the 19 winners, told reporters Monday as they picked up their cheques.

"The OLG's been most co-operative and it took a little while to work out this arrangement, but it's noteworthy that only these 19 have been paid."

The additional claimants came forward after the original group tried to claim the prize at the OLG's Prize Centre on January 5.

After a claims review process, the OLG has ruled that the original 19 claimants are entitled to a portion of the winnings. However, the legal challenge mounted by the additional claimants "is beyond the scope of OLG's prize claim investigation process," the agency said in a statement.

"OLG is pleased to award the nineteen group members their share of the jackpot and is confident the courts will ensure all claimants are reviewed and the disputed portion of the prize is paid to the right people," the agency said.

Glober said he has not seen a copy of the claim the 11 additional claimants have against his clients. However, he said he is not aware of any evidence to suggest there are more than 19 legitimate winners of the full prize.

Group leader Natalie Damianidis said she is "happy with the outcome so far," and said Saturday she stands by her contention that 19 people were on the play list and "19 people won."

Group member Frances Cowan called the win "a dream."

She added: "It's been a month and we're all still pinching ourselves," Cowan said. "And we're so excited and can't wait to actually get out there and do everything that we want to do with the money."