National Lottery sales top £337m

THE National Lottery created 16 new millionaires last year and maintained its track record of uninterrupted growth with a 3.8 per cent increase in sales to a record £336.8 million (€427.6 million).

Players, including the lucky winner who scooped the year's largest jackpot of £2.96 million, received £173.6 million in prizes while the Lottery raised £111.3 million for good causes, an increase of 4.2 per cent.

Between prize winners and beneficiaries, 84 pence in every £1 spent on the lottery was returned to the community.

More than £900 million has been raised by the lottery for distribution by the Government to good causes to date and Mr Ray Bates, director of the National Lottery, said it was well placed to break the £1 billion barrier before the start of the new millennium.

Of the funds distributed by Government, 36 per cent were spent on youth, sport, recreation and amenities; 29 per cent went to health and welfare; 23 per cent was spent on arts, culture and national heritage; 7 per cent on the Irish language; and 5 per cent on the charitable lotteries fund.

Launching the 1998 annual report, Mr John Hynes, chairman of the An Post National Lottery Company, said the most significant development during the year was the restructuring of the Lotto game in September, which involved a 50 per cent increase in the cost of playing the Lotto.

"The reasons for the change were so compelling that most Lotto players accepted the need for the price increase to fund the £1 million guaranteed first jackpots and the increases in other prizes," Mr Hynes said. "Some players now play more, some play less. However, the overall effect for the 13 weeks in 1998 since the change has been an increase of 21 per cent in average weekly Lotto sales."

Mr Bates said the new millennium would necessitate not only system changes but could also mark the beginning of a more competitive environment, both nationally and internationally, for the Irish lottery.

The company declined to comment on what it had in the pipeline. "We have some innovation planned for this year and we will announce it in due course," Mr Bates said.

Meanwhile, it is continuing to monitor the Internet and its possibilities. Games software has been modified to comply with Year 2000 requirements and the introduction of the euro which could, over time, lead to the development of a common game across the euro zone, Mr Bates said.

However, there are no specific plans for that as yet.

Last year, Lotto sales rose by 2.6 per cent to £219.3 million and accounted for 65 per cent of total sales. Lotto 5-4-3-2-1 recorded sales of £8.9 million while instant game sales increased by 7.4 per cent to £108.6 million, accounting for 32 per cent of the total.