Over €100m of unclaimed Lottery prizes spent on promotional activities since 2015

The National Lottery is seeking approval for a 'must-be-won' jackpot, as has happened in some other countries, to stop the jackpot rolling, as it has done for six months

Lottery chiefs are seeking regulatory approval to introduce a must-be-won draw to avoid jackpots rolling over for months without a winner.

The National Lottery has spent some €107m of unclaimed prize money on promotional activities since 2015, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Andrew Algeo, chief executive of Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), which runs the lottery, appeared before today's Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, where he announced that lottery chiefs were seeking regulatory approval to introduce a must-be-won draw to avoid jackpots rolling over for months without a winner.

The move has been suggested by PLI to resolve the current situation where the Lotto jackpot has not been won for over six months.

Responding to recent concerns about the so-called unwinnable jackpot, Mr Algeo said Lotto draws are operating in accordance with the game rules, with nothing amiss.

Upon questioning from committee chairman John McGuinness, a Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Algeo said the money from unclaimed prizes goes back in to promote the lottery as stipulated in their operating licence.

The chief executive could not disclose how much was unclaimed in 2021, but said it would "be disclosing it in the fullness of time."

In 2020, €17m was unclaimed; 2019 saw €19m unclaimed; 2018 saw €19m unclaimed; 2017 had €16m unclaimed; 2016 had €16m; and 2015 had €20m unclaimed.

Those funds have been used for the promotion of the National Lottery as stipulated by the licence, the chief executive said, but he declined to disclose how they "break out our promotional activities".

Mr McGuinness said there was no way for him to prove to the general public how the money was spent if it is not disclosed.

"There's no way of me giving comfort to the general public that in fact, all of these figures that we talk about were actually spent on promotion. We don't know if there was a leakage from the amount of money into the into general supports for the company," he said.

However, Mr Algeo said the regulator has visibility of all figures within the National Lottery and although unclaimed prizes are used to promote the National Lottery under the terms of the licence, promoting the National Lottery generates ticket sales, ticket sales are then distributed between players good causes, retailers and PLI.

Appearing for the Regulator of the National Lottery, Carol Boate said the current extended period of the rollover jackpot win is unusual in the history of the game.

"But it's not unusual in the history of lotteries," she said.

"Statistically, unlikely events are part of the nature of games of chance and lotteries. It was also statistically unlikely the lottery jackpot will be won three Saturdays in a row and yet this happened at the end of May and over the June bank holiday weekend earlier this year, when players won jackpots totalling over €11m in three consecutive Saturday draws."

Ms Boate added that in other jurisdictions, 'must-be-won' features are not uncommon.

"It's been in EuroMillions and some countries don't have it. To the best of my knowledge, Lotto has never had it before, and then you have another example. In Italy, they don't have it, and their main game rolled on for over a year and was won in October 2019 and it's operated three times a week."