Irish Lotto Plus Changes Announced For 1st September
Irish Lotto players can look forward to better odds of winning, increased jackpots and the creation of more millionaires after The National Lottery announced exciting changes to its supplementary Lotto Plus 1 and 2 draws, to take effect on 1st September 2018.
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The Lotto Plus 1 jackpot is set to double in size, increasing from €500,000 to €1 million, with the Lotto Plus 2 top prize remaining at €250,000. The price of a single line in both supplementary Lotto Plus draws will increase from €0.50 to €1 as a result of the the bigger jackpots, but the cost of entering the main Lotto draw will remain at €4 for two lines.
It is the first time the cost of playing Lotto Plus 1 has increased in 16 years, and the changes are set to affect around 90% of Lotto players who opt in to the additional games.
More Money Raised For Good Causes
A spokesperson for the National Lottery said: "There is no change in the price of a panel for the main Lotto draw. We advised players through the press on August 4th of restrictions on advanced Lotto play due to exciting new enhancements to our Lotto Plus games. These enhancements will see more winners and more millionaires created.
"Almost 30 cent in every Euro spent on National Lottery games, including Lotto games, goes back to Good Causes all over Ireland in the areas of sport, youth, health, community, arts, heritage and the Irish language."
The changes have been made following feedback from players, with the intention of improving the appeal of entering and maximizing the money raised for good causes. Over €226 million was raised for good causes in 2017, almost €620,000 a day. It is hoped that the upcoming changes to the Lotto Plus games will see the amount given to Good Causes increase even more in the next few years.
Irish Lotto Plus 2 Jackpot Won
There weren’t any winners of the Irish Lotto or Lotto Plus 1 jackpots over the weekend, but the Lotto Plus 2 top prize, worth €250,000, was won on Saturday by a single ticket holder. The lucky player matched the numbers 12, 18, 33, 34, 36 and 42 to scoop the six-figure windfall.
The jackpot-winning ticket worth a quarter-of-a-million was bought from the same Spar store on Main Street in Kinlough, Co. Leitrim, that sold a Lotto ticket worth €11.1 million in 2016. The owner of the Lotto Plus 2 winning ticket has now been urged to come forward and claim their prize.
Noel McGowan, the owner of the Spar store, said: "When the call came through last night, I was absolutely stunned. I can’t believe it – and this is almost two years to the day after we sold the Lotto jackpot winning ticket. What are the odds?
"I really hope it is someone local, but of course we may never know who it is, as we still don’t know who the €11.1 winner was in 2016 was. Maybe this time it is the same winner? Regardless, best of luck to them and I hope it brings them a lot of happiness."
This Wednesday’s Irish Lotto jackpot currently stands at an estimated €4 million, and you can pick your numbers for the draw by visiting our dedicated Lottery Tickets page.
20th August 2018
