We’re used to seeing rollovers in lotteries, but one that has recently come to an end in Ireland is probably the longest-running ever.
Ever since the last winning ticket with six numbers was sold and won on June 5th 2021, each week passed by without another single winner being announced. Week by week – 33 of them in all – the twice-weekly lotteries saw the jackpot steadily rise unclaimed to €19.06 million. There were even questions raised in the Irish parliament. In fact, one particularly outspoken MP Bernard Durkan asked for an investigation to be launched into the lottery’s organisers.
To head off criticism, it was then announced that the draw to be held on Saturday, 15th January would be a “must win” one. So, if a single ticket with six winning numbers wasn’t issued, the jackpot would flow down to the holders of tickets with five winning numbers. They would also receive the prize for their five winning numbers plus an equal share of the jackpot. If there were no holders of five winning numbers then it would flow down to those with four, and so on.
Luckily, this wasn’t needed. There was a single winning ticket for the whole €19.06 million jackpot bought in the County Mayo town of Castlebar. It’s believed that the winner wishes to remain anonymous.
Now the situation has been resolved, steps have been taken to ensure this doesn’t ever happen again. A new rule has been introduced that caps the maximum jackpot at €19.06 million. If it does ever reach this level again and remains unclaimed for five consecutive weeks, then the “flow-down” principle will be applied.
While this limit might put some players off from entering the Irish lottery, there is one very compelling reason to stick with it – the odds of winning. The chances of grabbing the jackpot are publicised as being 1:10, 737,573. Long odds, yes, but considerably more appealing than the UK Lottery’s odds of 1: 45,057,474. Then, if you look at the EuroMillions draw, these soar to 1:139,838,160.
Admittedly, the jackpots to be won are appreciably higher in the UK and the Euro versions. But the very minimum that the Irish Lotto will pay out is €2 million, which few people would turn down.
Especially if the odds of winning it are so more favourable than its counterparts.
The Irish setting of a cap to the jackpot and introducing the potential to flow down the jackpot isn’t the first time these measures have been introduced. After the EuroMillions lottery that last year found itself in a similar situation, their cap is €184 million, a sum which was won by a very lucky French player in October 2021.
So, players in Ireland, and beyond, are now waiting with interest to see if their jackpot ever reaches its own cap again – not to mention hoping that it won’t necessarily take the luck of the Irish to win it.
