A lesson on privatisation - Lotto deferred

For the first time in nearly three decades the National Lottery was deferred on Wednesday night — the €10m draw took place last night instead.

This unprecedented postponement is hardly a good argument for privatisation and must reflect poorly on the new operator of the franchise, Premier Lotteries Ireland, though they insist that the fault lies with the 3G telecommunications infrastructure provided by Telefónica.

The company has been criticised over the performance of its new ticket terminals which retailers claim are less efficient than they might be. Up to 3,500 terminals, equating to 95% of the Irish network, were out of commission for several hours on Wednesday.