National Lottery (Ireland)

The National Lottery () is the state-licensed lottery of Ireland. Established in 1986 to raise funds for good causes, it began operations on 23 March 1987 when it sold its first scratchcards. It launched the weekly drawing game Lotto the following year, holding the first draw on 16 April 1988. It now offers EuroDreams draws on Mondays and Thursdays, EuroMillions and Plus draws on Tuesdays and Fridays, Lotto and Lotto Plus draws on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and two Daily Million draws each day. Its other games include televised bingo, an annual Millionaire Raffle, and online instant-win games. The minimum age to play all National Lottery games is 18.

Almost 40 percent of Irish adults play National Lottery games regularly, with nearly 30 percent of sales going toward good causes in the areas of sport and recreation, national culture and heritage, the arts, community health, youth welfare and amenities, and the natural environment. In 2022, total National Lottery sales were €884 million, with almost €485 million returned in prizes and almost €260 million distributed to good causes. Since its inception, the National Lottery has raised a cumulative total of over €6 billion for good causes.

From 1986 to 2014, the state-owned An Post National Lottery Company operated the National Lottery. To raise funds during a financial crisis, the Irish government sold the National Lottery licence for 20 years to a private operator, Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC, which took over the National Lottery in November 2014. At that time, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform appointed an independent regulator of the National Lottery (currently Carol Boate) to oversee operations. Provided by Wikipedia