The Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake entered voluntary liquidation in March 1987 when its operators decided it could not compete with the new National Lottery. Among the bidders were the operators of the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake, which had run since 1930, although their licence bid was unsuccessful. In 1986, the Irish government initiated a public tender process, inviting bids for a licence to run the National Lottery. At that time, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform appointed an independent regulator of the National Lottery (currently Carol Boate) to oversee operations. 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.

įrom 1986 to 2014, the state-owned An Post National Lottery Company operated the National Lottery. Since its inception, the National Lottery has raised a cumulative total of over €6 billion for good causes. It was the first year that sales had exceeded €1 billion. In 2021, total National Lottery sales were €1.05 billion, with a total of €586 million returned in prizes and €304 million distributed to good causes. The minimum age to play all National Lottery games is 18.Īlmost 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. Its other games include televised bingo, Millionaire Raffles, and online instant-win games. The National Lottery now offers Lotto and Lotto Plus draws on Wednesdays and Saturdays, EuroMillions and Plus draws on Tuesdays and Fridays, and two Daily Million draws each day. It launched the weekly drawing game Lotto the following year, holding the first draw on 16 April 1988.

Established in 1986 to raise funds for good causes, it began operations on 27 March 1987 when it issued its first scratchcards. The National Lottery ( Irish: An Crannchur Náisiúnta) is the state-licensed lottery of Ireland.

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