A Complete Guide to the World Famous Irish Lotto

History of the Irish Lotto

The Lotto Before the Irish Lotto

While the current iteration has been around since 1987, Ireland’s love of lotto games is far older. In the 1930s, something called Irish Hospital Sweepstakes (or affectionately as “The Sweeps”) raised money for building hospitals at a time when Ireland was very poor and still reeling from The Civil War. Although technically available only in Ireland, there was a black market selling tickets all over the world, including the USA.

The game eventually dissolved but the ongoing for public lotto led to the rise of the Irish Lotto in 1987. the first Irish Lotto tickets went on sale in March the next year and the first draw took place in April. Back then, players chose 6 numbers from a pool of 36. The pool has increased since then, first to 29, then to 45, and finally to where it is now at a 47 pool. The latest change came with new owners and a price increase. In 1990, just two years after its foundation, a second draw was added – this time on a Wednesday.

Not everybody has been happy with the changes but the potential for higher prizes has offset some of the frustration.

Irish Lottery Format Changes
YEAR	FORMAT	ODDS
1988	6/36	1,947,792:1
1992	6/39	3,262,623:1
1994	6/42	5,245,786:1
2006	6/45	8,145,060:1
2015	6/45	10,737,573:1

The 1980s – A Golden Age for Lotto in Ireland

The late 1980s are memorable in many ways. Not only was it the birth of the Irish Lotto, but the Iron Curtain came down too. Eire qualified for the European Cup for the very first time under the management of Jackie Charlton. He would also take them to their first World Cup Italia 90. Impressively, they reached the Quarter Finals.
The first Irish Lotto draw show wasn’t exactly a ratings winner, but it was the start of something new, a great and positive time, but the scene was set for a bigger scope and more exciting draw show called “The Winning Streak”, a game show accompanying the draw which ran for many years.

Breaking the System

In 1992, a Polish-Irish mathematician painstakingly worked out how many tickets to buy to guarantee a win. He put together a syndicate, waited until a large rollover accumulated, and then bought a pile of tickets. The plan worked and the syndicate claimed a large prize. It was a direct result of this that the pool increased to 42.

It’s (so far) the only real lotto to be the subject of a Hollywood film. Called Waking Ned and released in 1998, it’s about a man who wins the Irish Lotto and has as heart attack. The villagers then hatch a plan to pretend Ned is still alive so they may all claim the prize.

The record jackpot prize fund was €18.9 million, claimed in 2008 by a syndicate. Ireland’s biggest ever lotto winner was Dolores McNamara although she won that prize on the EuroMillions in 2005.

Irish Lotto Statistics

When the modern Irish Lotto launched and players picked 6 from 36, the odds of winning the jackpot was 1,947,792:1. Considering the population of Ireland was (then) just 3.5m people, that was very good odds for winning, hence its popularity. It led to the high-profile case where the accountant mentioned earlier figured out how many tickets he needed to buy.

The numbers that come up most on the Irish Lotto are 5, 8, 17, 19, 29, 31 and 39.
Those that come up the least are: 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45.

Remember though that these numbers are recent additions to the pool and so have come up far less often. The odds of hitting Irish Lotto jackpot is calculated at 10,737,573:1. It’s always been one of the better lottos for odds of winning, certainly until the pool increased a couple of years ago. Players have a 29:1 chance of winning a prize of any value which isn’t bad odds.

 

Irish Lotto Odds
Prize	Probability
Jackpot (6 Numbers)	1 : 10,737,573
Second Prize (5 Numbers + Bonus)	1 : 1,789,596
Third Prize (5 Numbers)	1 : 44,740
Fourth Prize (4 numbers + bonus)	1 : 17,896
Fifth Prize (4 Numbers)	1 : 918
Sixth Prize (3 numbers + bonus)	1 : 688
Seventh Prize (3 numbers)	1 : 54
Eighth Prize (2 numbers + bonus)	1 : 72
Any Prize	1 : 29

 

Best Lottery Jackpot Odds
Rank	Lottery	jackpot Odds	Base Price
1	Mini Lotto	1:850,688	€0.50
2	Swedish Lotto	1:6,724,520	€1.00
3	Mon/Wed Lotto	1:8,145,060	€1.20
4	Saturday Lotto	1:8,145,060	€1.50
5	Austrian Lotto	1:8,145,060	€1.50
6	Irish Lotto	1:10,737,573	€2.00

Winning the Irish Lotto

The key to winning any Lotto is consistency. The more often you enter a game, the higher your chance of winning. Irish Lotto has two draws per week and with the larger number pool, rollovers occur more frequently. 

While nothing is certain, you have a greater chance of winning when you use quick picks, or a random number selection method.