The Irish Lotto was launched in 1986 to replace another numbers game in the form of the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes. Thanks to the explosion in usage of the World Wide Web, Irish Lotto Tickets are now for sale online all over the world.
The Irish Lotto was created to fund good causes in Ireland. It's original format which involved a large draw taking place once a week has now grown to include multiple daily and weekly jackpots, scratches, and involvement with the Irish branch of the Euromillions Lottery. Irish Lotto Tickets are purchased for draws which take place every week on both Wednesday and Saturday evenings. A percentage of ticket sales will go back into the prize kitty, and then the rest of it will be put towards good causes including sporting resources, health and welfare, Irish Heritage and arts, and also recreational facilities.
Players can fill out their own Irish Lotto Tickets by choosing six numbers from one to forty five, or a quick pick option is also available where their numbers are automatically generated for them. In the lottery itself, seven numbers are drawn. This means that six main numbers and then one bonus will be drawn. If the player chooses all six main numbers in one game, they can win the jackpot prize.
If you do not have the right combination to win the jackpot, other divisions are as follows. The second division winner will be able to match five of the main numbers plus the bonus number on their ticket. Prizes in divisions one and two have a set minimum payout to winners that does not depend on the ticket sales revenue. This may be even larger when a rollover occurs, which is when the jackpot is not won in one or more consecutive weeks and therefore is carried over to further draws.
The person who has a ticket matching five out of six of the main numbers, without the bonus, will be able to claim a prize in the third division. If four of the main numbers with the bonus number are matched, this is a winning fourth division ticket. Matching for main numbers is required to win the fifth division. Three of the main numbers and then also the bonus number will win the sixth division. The lowest division, the seventh, is available to the person holding a ticket that matches three of the main numbers drawn.
When a prize is won in any of these divisions apart from the first and second, it will be paid out as a percentage of the money raised through ticket sales. All prizes will be paid out in one lump sum. A winning ticket in the seventh division will see you getting five Euros non dependent on ticket sales, if you have matched three of the main numbers.
Unfortunately sophisticated lottery scams are also more prevalent today thanks in part to the increasing popularity of internet lottery ticket sales. Emails are sent out claiming to be from the Irish Lotto, amongst others, saying that you have won millions and must send a fee for them to release this money to you. Even when you have never even thought about buying Irish Lotto Tickets.
