Sinn Féin TD for Kerry Pa Daly has called for the National Lottery to be taken back under government control when the contract and licence are up.
Teachta Daly said that the National Lottery should be taken back into State ownership when the existing contract expires.
“The Lottery was sold to an investment consortium in 2014, including a pension fund for Canadian teachers, for the bargain price of €405 million,” said Teachta Daly.
“This is despite annual Lottery turnover ranging from €700 million in the year it was sold, to over €900 million now.
€17m in Unclained Prizes
“This may be heralded by some as a success, however the contribution that the Lottery makes to good causes has not grown at the same pace. The Lottery operators have altered the number of players on some draws to reduce odds, and increased the numbers on the Lotto itself from 45 to 47 which decreased the odds of winning.
“Further, restrictions that stopped the Lotto from operating online were lifted as part of the sale to the investment consortium. Online sales contribute approximately €175 million annually to the National Lottery turnover.
“Unclaimed prizes run about €17 million per year, with a total of €124 million in unclaimed prizes from 2015 to the end of 2021.
Incremental Marketing
“Of this, only two per cent is put back into prizes while 98 per cent is used by the Lottery operator for ‘incremental marketing’.
“It is not hard to do the maths here and see that the National Lottery, in its current form, is not providing a good deal for the Irish communities it was designed to help in the first place.
“The licence was granted for 20 years, however the decision should be made now that the Lottery will be taken back into State ownership when it expires,”
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