History of Irish Lottery

Established in 1986, the Irish Lottery has given lottery fans in the Emerald Isle – and people betting from other countries – exciting weekly events to look forward to, and continues to do so! Having raised over €4.9 billion for good causes, it also provides funding for projects in sectors like sports, recreation, health, welfare, arts, national heritage and the Irish language. It’s not just for fun but a staple of the community.

Enjoy learning how it all came around? Use this page to follow the timeline of key events. If you’re looking for older results for Irish Lotto, EuroMillions, Daily Million, or EuroDreams, then go to their main pages and navigate to their results and archives.

Take a look at the history of the most popular lottery games in Ireland below:

Timeline of Irish Lottery

Here is a timeline history of how the Irish lottery industry came to be:

1986
New legislature allows Irish lottery to begin. There are no games yet, but it won't be long.
1987March
The first Irish lottery games ever begin! Scratchcards are the first to become available and be played. Draw games will arrive in a year though. Irish lottery has arrived but is a far cry from what it will become.
1988
Irish Lotto is launched and its first draw held on Saturday 16th April. It works by players picking six numbers in an attempt to match digits ranging between 1 and 36 with the winning numbers.
1990
Irish Lotto adds a mid-week draw due to popularity. The Irish Lottery is growing.
1992
A syndicate exploit in Irish Lotto takes place. A 28-member Dublin group buys tickets covering all combinations for a draw in May 1992. They win IR£1.16 million. Consequently, Irish Lotto changes to a 6/39 format and the Bonus Ball is added.
1994
Three new numbers are added to the game, making Irish Lotto a 6/42 format that's harder to trick.
1999
Telly Bingo is launched in September. Players buy tickets with 24 randomly generated numbers to match patterns drawn live on TV.
2004
Ireland joins EuroMillions ahead of the draw on 8th October 2004, eight months after the game's official launch in the UK, Spain and France.
2005
Dolores McNamara becomes Ireland's first big winner, scooping €115.4 million on 29th July.
2006
The format is changed again. Irish Lotto becomes 6/45 and the minimum guaranteed jackpot is set to €2 million.
2007
EuroMillions Plus launches in June, offering an extra chance to win with the same EuroMillions numbers.
2008
A record-breaking €18.96 million jackpot is won by a Carlow syndicate on 28th June.
2012
Daily Million launches on 11th September, offering the chance to win €1 million every day, replacing Monday Million.
2015
In September, the format changes to 6/47. Prices increase to €2 per line, and the Lotto Plus Raffle is launched.
2016
Irish Lotto Lucky Stars increase to 12, the minimum jackpot is set at €17 million, and an Ireland Only Raffle is introduced.
2018
Prize tiers in Lotto Plus 1 and 2 are improved; the top Lotto Plus 1 prize doubles to €1 million. A "Million Euro Raffle" is introduced.
2022
On 15th January, a special "Will Be Won" draw guarantees a record jackpot payout of €19.06 million — the largest in history.
2026
In early September, substantial changes were made to Lotto and its derivative games. Most notably, the addition of a Monday draw, the removal of two numbers from the Lotto ball pool, and renaming 'Lotto 54321' to 'Lotto Pick & Play'. Check our 2026 Lotto Changes article for all the changes in full!

Play Irish Lottery Today

Over nearly four decades, what began in 1987 as a simple state-run lottery selling scratchcards has grown into a diverse set of games. From the original 6-number draw game launched in 1988, the lottery expanded with mid-week draws, format changes, and by the late 1990s and beyond, a full portfolio of draw games, daily draws, televised bingo, instant-win games, raffles, plus-draws and online sales.

Today, the National Lottery provides multiple ways to play, raising funds for good causes while offering a wide range of game-types to suit different players. You can take part through IrishLottery.com easily, getting the latest results, draws, and updates as they come in.