Lottery raises €267.8m for good causes

The National Lottery raised a record €267.8 million for good causes last year, up from €245 million in 2007.

According to its annual report, which was published today, the total amount of funds raised since the National Lottery was first established in 1987 has now exceeded €3 billion.

Approximately 32c out of every euro spent on National Lottery games goes to good causes and over the past 21 years, funding has been given to projects in the areas of youth, aports and amenities; health & welfare; arts, culture & national heritage, and the Irish language.

Over 2 million people now play National Lottery games on a regular basis and on average 81,500 people won National Lottery prizes every day last year. The total amount of prizes distributed rose 8.1 per cent to €34.1 million.

During the year, a total of €119.6 million was won in Lotto jackpots and 29 new millionaires were created.

Lotto sales increased by 6.6 per cent from €357.7 million in 2007 to a record level of €381.4 million in 2008. while Lotto Plus sales rose from €100.1 million to €109 million. Sales of the EuroMillions game in Ireland totalled €142.1 million, up 5.2 per cent on the previous year while Lotto 5-4-3-2-1 sales amounted to €11.2 million, representing a 2.9 per cent increase.

The National Lottery's scratch card business recorded a 5.8 per cent increase in sales, up to €170.2 million from €160.9 million in 2007.