Irish lottery claims €289m in losses from bookmaker lotto draw betting
The operator of the Irish National Lottery has called on the government to ban betting companies from offering bets on its draws.
Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) is claiming hundreds of millions of annual losses in its own revenue, in returns to good causes, and to the wider Irish retail sector.
In its recently published ‘Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of the National Lottery’, PLI makes a claim of €289m (£250m) in National Lottery sales losses in 2024 alone as a result of lottery betting at retail and online bookmakers.
The firm argues that this practice led to a decline in National Lottery retail sales of €239m, and a reduction in good causes funds by around €81m. An estimate of annual good causes losses of €62m between 2021-2024 was also given.
Cian Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the National Lottery,” said “A significant number of people play for a chance to win a prize in a fun and regulated environment, while contributing to very worthy causes.
“The National Lottery plays a vital role in funding Good Causes, supporting thousands of jobs, and driving economic activity across communities nationwide.
“Lottery betting in bookmakers is a very real risk to this ecosystem, reducing the funds available for local sports clubs, youth centres, arts programmes, and community services.”
Irish lottery leads coalition against lotto draw bets
PLI, along with survey author Indecon International Economic and Strategic Consultants, based this on the estimate that around 28% of National Lottery sales income was spent on good causes in 2024.
When this 28% figure is applied to the total estimated value of lottery sales of €289.7m, the duo came to the conclusion that €81m in good causes funds has been lost.
The FDJ United-owned firm has been joined by Charities Institute Ireland (CII) and Retail Grocery Dairy and Allied Trades Association (RGDATA) in calling for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) to push for a ban on bookmakers offering bets on Irish lottery draws.
“The charity and voluntary sector depend heavily on reliable annual funding to sustain and develop its services,” said Aine Myler, CEO of the CII. “The National Lottery Good Causes Fund plays a vital role in supporting a wide range of organisations in the sports, arts, heritage, youth, community, and health sectors.”
Tara Buckley, Director General of the RGDATA, added: “Retailers can see the real difference that Good Causes funding makes to clubs and organisations, usually volunteer-led, within their local areas.
“It is important that the government acts now to protect Good Causes funding and to prevent the National Lottery being increasingly undermined by lottery betting. Ireland should stop being an outlier in Europe and move now to ban lottery betting.”
The PLI and its allies in the retail and charity sectors are not wrong in pointing out that Ireland is an outlier in Europe in allowing bookmakers to take bets on lottery draws, as 25 out of 27 EU member states, as well as the UK, prohibit this on their own National Lotteries.
Betting on international lottery draws is still allowed in some countries, however. In the UK, for example, Irish lotto draws are offered by a number of bookmakers, such as Paddy Power, Betfred, Coral, and more.
https://lotterydaily.com/2026/04/28/regulation/irish-lottery-bookmaker-draw-bets/