Irish Lottery
The Irish National Lottery launched in 1987 and is played by two-thirds of all Irish adults. The main Irish Lotto draw is popular around the world, creating millionaires on a weekly basis. The Irish Lottery also supports good causes and initiatives across Ireland for Sport and Recreation, Health and Welfare, National Heritage and the Arts.
The Irish Lotto main draw plays twice weekly, every Wednesday and Saturday evening and base jackpots start at €2 million.
How to win the Irish Lottery jackpot
During the main Irish Lotto draw, 7 balls between 1 and 45 inclusive are drawn, the first six balls out are the main balls and to win the Irish Lottery jackpot you must match all six balls on your lottery ticket to the first six out on the draw. The seventh ball is the bonus ball and creates an extra prize tier for players.
In addition to the lottery jackpot, there are several prize tiers each draw, giving players prizes ranging from the match 3, right through to the lottery jackpot.
Odds of winning the Irish Lottery jackpot
Odds of winning the Irish Lotto jackpot are higher than many lottery jackpots around the world, at around 8.1 million to one. Overall odds of winning a prize are also quite generous, helped along by the match 3 prize tier, and the 6/45 matrix.
Irish Lottery jackpots
Irish Lottery jackpots are guaranteed to be at least €2 million per draw, but with regular rollovers and bumper jackpots, they have been known to get much higher.
The biggest lottery jackpot on the Irish Lottery was €18.9 million won back in 2008 by a 16-strong lottery syndicate. The biggest Irish Lottery prize to go to a single player was €16.7 million, scooped in Donegal.
Taxes on Irish Lottery jackpot
Unlike the big US lottery draws, there is no tax to pay on any of the draws from the Irish National Lottery. The stated jackpot is always an estimate of what is won, but all jackpots are collected by the winner in their entirety.
