A person in Co Wexford has become the first in Ireland to win €1 million through a scratch card.
While the National Lottery described it as a “historic first” and a “landmark moment”, the news has drawn criticism from a researcher on gambling addiction.
Frank Houghton, principal investigator of the tobacco, alcohol and gambling research group at the Technological University of the Shannon, said scratch cards were “sanitising and normalising gambling” for young people.
Noting they were typically placed next to sweets at cash registers, Houghton said the “shiny” and “attractive” products were also cheap and simple to use and understand.
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“You can buy a scratch card for €1. What child in the country can’t come up with €1?” he said.
Citing previous research from the Economic and Social Research Institute, which estimated that 130,000 people in Ireland were problem gamblers, Houghton said scratch cards should not be visible in shops.
“They should be like cigarettes, hidden out of sight,” he said.
Neither the winner nor the selling retailer of the €1 million ticket has been revealed, though the National Lottery said celebrations would take place in Wexford on Tuesday to mark the “milestone moment”.
National Lottery spokesman Darragh O’Dwyer described it as a “huge milestone”, reiterating that the win was a “first of its kind in Ireland”. It follows the introduction of the All Cash Millionaire game.
The National Lottery said nearly 30 cent in each €1 spent went to good causes. In total, seven billion euro €7 billion has been raised for good causes since it was established 39 years ago, it said.
However, critics say scratch cards can act as a gateway to gambling for children, who are managing to buy them despite being underage.
A mystery shopper exercise undertaken by the Office of the Regulator of the National Lottery (ORNL) in 2024 found that 28 per cent of retailers were not taking sufficient measures to prevent the sale of lottery products to those under 18.
