Odds of Winning Improve
If you play Irish Lotto, you will continue to select six numbers out of 47, but there will be new ways to win if you add the Lotto Plus option to your playslip. You will now receive a free €2 entry into the Daily Million game if you match just two main numbers plus the Bonus Ball in either Lotto Plus 1 or Lotto Plus 2. The overall odds of winning in Lotto and Lotto Plus have improved from 1 in 17 to 1 in 10 as a result.
If you are lucky enough to match all six main numbers in Lotto Plus 1, the jackpot prize has been doubled from €500,000 to €1 million. The Lotto Plus Raffle prize has also gone up from €300 to €500 for anyone who matches the random four-digit code. A new Lotto Plus Million Euro Raffle has been launched and will take place several times a year, offering €1 million in every draw.
To pay for the extra prizes, the price will change from €0.50 per Lotto Plus line to €1 per line. You have to play at least two Lotto lines, so the minimum cost of Lotto and Lotto Plus has gone up from €5 to €6.
‘Players will be Very Happy’
The changes have been made to increase the overall number of prize winners and the number of millionaires. The odds of winning the top prizes remains exactly the same, so Irish National Lottery bosses are satisfied that players will welcome the adjustments.
“The reality is nobody likes to pay more for any product, but we really believe when players see the value that they are going to be getting for the small price increase, that they will be very happy,” said the National Lottery’s Miriam Donohoe. “There are new options to win, particularly the idea of creating new millionaires."
The changes will also help the lottery to give more money to good causes. Around €0.30 of every €1 spent on games goes towards worthy projects across the country, and it is estimated that nine out of ten Lotto players add the Lotto Plus option when they buy a ticket.
The minimum cost of playing Lotto without Lotto Plus will remain €4 for two lines, and you can try to become the second jackpot winner in a row this Saturday after a player from Co Meath won Wednesday’s €4.7 million top prize. Find out more about the range of Irish Lottery games available as the new era begins.