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Updated 8.57am
THE NATIONAL LOTTERY is to introduce changes next month that will see the cost of playing increase. Two extra numbers will also be added to the selection grid, lengthening the odds for winning the jackpot.
Customers will, from next month, have to pay €4 for the minimum two-line play, rather the current price of €3. Tickets for the twice-weekly draws will cost €5 when Lotto Plus is included.
Not only will it be more expensive to play but you will also have less of a chance of winning as the National Lottery is adding two new numbers to the play-slip.
So from next month the odds of winning the jackpot will be almost 11 million to one.
The National Lottery said today the announced changes have all undergone market and player research and the findings indicated “it’s time for a change” .
It said other changes like the introduction of a Lotto Plus Raffle and bonuses for matching numbers plus the bonus mean people now have more of a chance of winning a prize – just not necessarily the jackpot.
Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) CEO Dermot Griffin, whose company paid €405 million for a 20-year licence to run the privatised draw, said the changes will deliver “a more exciting game and bigger jackpots for our players which will generate more funds for good causes”.
The changes will take effect from 3 September 2015. The first Lotto draw under the new Lotto 6/47 matrix will take place on 5 September 2015.
Debt and taxes
In March Griffin was notably vague on plans to change the games to boost PLI’s profitability when he was hauled before an Oireachtas committee.
It followed a series of problems with the National Lottery draw including the first-ever cancellation in lotto history after a ticketing network failure.
Accounts since filed for the company revealed it had debts of nearly €200 million to be repaid over the next 5 1/2 years.
It was also paying 9% interest on a separate loan of almost €170 million, the bulk of which was owed to PLI’s ultimate parent, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Additional reporting Peter Bodkin
First published 8.15am
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25% increase. That’s what happens when you sell a national asset
Taking away one number and lower the jackpots would surely lead to a lot more ticket sales and avoid the price increase altogether… Why could they not do that.
It’s a 33% increase.
I’m out.
it’s just idiot tax
Proof that only people who can’t grasp basic maths would play the lottery…
It’s almost like the name of the game gives you an idea of your chances Drew. Maybe you can’t grasp the English language correctly
CEO Dermot Griffin said the changes will deliver “a more exciting game and bigger jackpots for our players which will generate more funds for good causes”. More like Generate higher bonuses and pensions for him and his cronies..
Just thinking the same thing..
I wont be playing anymore. Its now a luxury not a frivolous couple of quid. And im a punter. Privatisation never works.
Wonder how much goes on his pay every year is it another quago .? May bthey could give some of the new profits to Irish Water
Bigger jackpots because they will roll over longer. Never had any interest to be fair.
33%??
You’re joking, right ?
Yes, 33% increase.
1 Euro (the increase) as a percentage of 3 Euro (the existing price) = 33% increase.
Boycott this legal pyramid scheme that makes parasites like this CEO rich!!!!
Is there one aspect of life in Irrland thst is NOT a rip off?
Ireland that is NOT….
Better off doing 3 or 4 numbers in the bookies.
Free market, stupidity tax.
Bring it on
It shouldn’t be called the national lottery anymore seeing as it’s owned by the Canadian teachers pension fund. another money making asset sold off
So they’re increasing the stupidity tax. Not worth crying about.
So true, I think 2 numbers pays out €60!
Stupid greedy runts.
Fully agree better payout even for 2 numbers in Ladbrookes especially on the euromillions draws
Time to abandon the lotto and get stuck into the euromillions. At least you only need 2 numbers to get your money back
People will just pay less. I’m not liking this new crowd.
Simply don’t buy a ticket
Put the 5e away in a jar for 10 years and you’ll be a whole lot richer for it
Lotto/scratch cards just another tax on people
Brendan, how can it be a tax on people? You have the choice to buy one or not. They can raise the price as much as they want and it won’t affect anybody, if these choose not to buy a ticket.
Brendan care with that jar. Had one myself and my house was broken into. Had over 1000 euro taken.
Maybe lodge it periodically?
Why not guarantee 2 or 3 million as a jackpot, and just increase the lower wins.
Why is it a Minimum of 2 panels per play… It only takes 1 line of numbers to WIN!
The bookies be delighted,
rip of Ireland alive and kicking, thanks enda and Joan.
Lotto tickets here in Holland cost €15 for a full lot. It isn’t as rip-off as you think.
As they say in Dragons Den I’m out.
Are they talking about you lol. Bad joke…
Don’t suppose you could find out the reason for these changes? Thanks.
Increased insurance costs due to paper cuts,oh,and the current economic climate. This will probably cause a huge drop in profits for the Lotto,the people who took over seem to have the business nous of a pair of kids selling lemonade outside their front garden,maybe even less.
a 50 cent increase per line is a joke boycott the lotto
Idiot Tax!
No it’s not
You should say that to the chap from Mayo that won over 6 million last weekend. I’m sure he would agree.
It’s FOMO. You ‘idiot tax’ people sound so grumpy.
Was there not a time that the money used to go to our hospitals which are sorely in need of it now? Instead it goes abroad now and into the pockets of a few already wealthy people. Vulture capitalism, selling off valuable assets and globalisation strikes again. We get told we have to work harder and at the same time can get money for nothing. I want my, I want my, I want my IHS back.
Charlie, I wouldn’t exactly call the teachers in ontario wealthy!!!
Stupid stupid idea at completely wrong time .
This of course has nothing to do with the Canadian Teachers Pension plan trying to maximise it’s profits at the expense of the Irish people. What’s next for sale by this incompetent government maybe Irish rain?
I can see that board meeting now.
“Consumer confidence in us is low due to the constant issues that have plagued us since privatisation. How could we possibly raise our public image?”
“Sure lets increase our price. They’re bound to think that we take it more seriously if we charge them more.”
the rain? sure that already belongs to irish water
At the expense of the people… Yes all the hard working people are suffering and sending their kids to school hungry BECAUSE THE COST OF THROWING YOUR MONEY AWAY ON THE LOTTERY INCREASED…
Irish rain has already been laid claim to, if you look closely at #irishwater and its terms and conditions of “contract”.
Oh, and as I forgot to mention, but usually do – greed is the only game in this town.
I wish they’d use the extra cash to fix their website. It’s completely broken since they took over and when you contact them, they just deny there’s anything wrong!
That’s it . I’m out !
I had only signed up to lottery.ie recently and it was very handy ….. but the website often had problems and I missed 2 games as a result .
Not going to play at €5 for 2 lines !!! It’s just too much and I can’t justify it.
will do it online at Paddy Power from now on – good luck Lotto- thanks for nothing !
It didn’t take long for the new franchise to convince the government to let them increase the lotto 33%. why the extra numbers? it’d not like the jackpot was been won every week. in fact far from that. there’s only one winner here and that’s the lotto.
Well selling has its pit falls. Price up a quarter.. Was Irish. What else can we privatise is the FG/LAB mantra.. Irish water prices will surely double if not more in a private company. Why so against a referendum FG/LAB to keep it ours? Well I guess the payment rate tell us we all know the answer.
Remember Enya, ‘ It’d immoral to tax a person’s home’
Leo ‘ Not another cent to banks’
Yet people still see fit to vote them and accept lies.
With repossession case multiplying rapidly, the end is nigh on corruption…
Just another way in screwing the little guy over
euromillions all the way.. f#*k the irish lottery.
it’s actually Turkish Lotto now thanks to the sell out from our dear Enda.
Canadian not Turkish. sorry thinking of the holiday.
Its a Tax on Hope.
Stop doing it
This is what happens when the government sells off a national asset ….
No thanks
This will happen to our water when they sell it off
Privatisation is a great thing. Irish water, the railway system, the HSE. A significant drop in the quality of service plus a substantial rise in costs. We’ve a lot to look forward to.
or increase it by another 10% and pay everyone’s water bills
Will anyone win it before a bank holiday now???
He looks like a smarmy pr1ck. I’m finished with the lotto. I’m sure one week of no one buying tickets would reverse the change handy enough.
Will it still start off at 2.5 million
Ah yes, typical English involvement, trying to fix something that isn’t broken!
Did you not ready it, Martin?
‘Findings indicated “it’s time for a change” ‘. This crowd have done market research and determined that people were finding it too easy to win and too cheap to play. They’re only giving people what they want.
When the lotto came out the minimum spend was 50p for a chance to win at least £250,000 at odds of 1/1,947,792 … So if the jackpot was over £1 million you were getting better odds than you should have. and £250,000 was a life-changing sum back then, probably more than €1 million would be today. Paying a full fiver for a lotto ticket? They can get lost. I won’t be playing unless it’s €15 million or something.
with the new number added it will probably hit 15m before any poor sod wins …so many rollovers! it was better with less numbers and winning a few bob each week! impossible now. I’m out euromillions it is.
more money to good cause. ..that’s the word that makes it acceptable ..I’m out. It was to expensive to begin. with and was already hard to win anything worth talking about .I think they have just shot themselves.
I can’t win a raffle so there’s no way I’m paying out five euro not to win the lotto! What about winning streak? Will it continue to take cringeworthy to new and previously unseen heights.? Can’t wait.
I have been a regular player of the National and Euro lottos since their inception in 1986. Yes, I know, Baz, Richard, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all, and all the smart men will say it is a tax on stupidity. I accept that. Nonetheless, despite the colossal odds, people DO win, and on a regular basis, and people continue to dream of a bit of relief from their financial worries. However, this latest move by “The Canadian Teachers’ Pension Fund et al” is a step too far. They have increased the already enormous odds by a huge factor, whilst at the same time increasing the ticket price. If the IW debacle has taught us anything, it should be that the boycott has enormous power. I would venture that a two month moratorium on all purchases of lotto tickets or scratch cards would significantly modify the attitude of these purchasers of a National Asset. I know the size of the problem, I stand in the queue behind the hordes of pensioners hazarding a goodly portion of their income every week on multiple lotto tickets and scratch cards (the biggest money spinner ever), but the message must be got to them – if you continue to pay – you will ;pay much more with shorter odds. My opinion, for what it’s worth.
Sorry, longer odds of course.
Well said rashers!
Hit these greedy feckers where it hurts!
People power has had such a huge influence in IW to date. It’s proven.
Do it again… Put manners on them!
No way …..I’m not buying anymore lotto tickets . If I do it means I support them!!
C’mon everyone… go to the bookies or play Euromillions if you need your fix
Check out the permutations and combinations you chances of a win have rapidly decreased.
Usual auld scam. I never play it.
Do they expect us to believe that “market and player research” indicated that people WANT to pay 33% extra and have even less chance of winning? The Government should revoke their licence simply for pretending that.
It’s time for lotto players to call the company on the way they treat customers. A couple of months of boycott would get the ultra-greedy lotto.ie back in line. I, for one, won’t pay extra money for a smaller chance to win fewer prizes.
700 million a year is what they take in. You can be sure as hell they only pay out a fraction of that. Yet they want MORE profit. Greedy pigs. Let’s punish them by boycotting…
Why not give a greater reward for 5 numbers (maybe €20,000) instead of a few hundred Euro as it is at present which is calculated depending on how many matched!! and the same for 4 numbers and 4 +bonus etc. This would keep people interested
That’s me finished then,I’ve just cancelled my online account.
Stop playing it, euro or bookies only and let the greedy f#%^*rs go under, now that I’d pay to see.
and that’s the end of me playing the lotto. waste of money!
Worked on this problem recently. The guys who bought the lotto took out a loan to do so, and at current ticket prices, and odds, they wouldnt be making enough money to stay on time with payments/ interest etc. The two most obvious, from a business standpoint, solutions would be to a) make it harder to win and see how that effects projected income or b) increase the price of a ticket. I see they’ve gone with the alternate plan c where c= a+b. The odds thing was a no brainer. By adding even just one extra number to the lotto they could have drastically increased revenue, and it would have been subtle enough for nobody to give a crap. But adding two numbers AND increasing ticket prices at the same time…. Silly geese. I’m going to guess this one doesnt fly as far under the radar as they would have hoped.
National Lottery, tax on the poor, simple as
All the more reasons to not do it now save up your cash for doin the lotto and take a holiday
give them nothing
It doesn’t go up for a month!
*stocks up*
we needed two more numbers because the lotto was being won far to often…. Not.
There are National Lottery scratch cards now for 20 euros with no limit to buying them. The Government is promoting Gambling Scandalous.
Do the bookiesa
I’d be really surprised if a modest change in the price, and a statistically insignificant decrease in the odds from vanishingly small to vanishingly small is enough to push people over to edge and say “I’m done with this”.
Then again Search Eagle, you will find any reason to excuse government action to privatise everything in public ownership. How long before politicians or their family members appear on the board of this company?
Then why play it then…?
Why is it still called the NATIONAL LOTTERY? It is owned by the England’s Camelot ……..
So it’s not an Irish National Lottery any more
Bigger jackpots mean bigger sales and more advertising hype. it does not mean more payouts.
BOYCOTT
It was also paying 9% interest on a separate loan of almost €170 million, the bulk of which was owed to PLI’s ultimate parent, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
‘Nuff said. Ontario teachers can fund their own pension because I won’t be. I rarely play Lotto and that fact will now be even more rare. Stick it where the suns don’t shine.
These jokers havn’t finished yet. When all this dies down and people get used to it there will be an extra 3 numbers next year and they will drop 3 number win and introduce a raffle number for, say E2500. to lure in players.
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