We could all do with a little extra cash at Christmas. It’s usually a very popular time to play the lottery, for obvious reasons. Spain, in particular, has a historic Christmas lottery tradition which is deeply ingrained in their Christmas culture. This year, the Irish lottery is catching the eye of many British punters due to an unbelievable run of rollovers which has caused the jackpot to skyrocket to its biggest ever. Here’s all you need to know about the Irish lottery and how to be in with a chance, even if you live in the UK.
KEEP ROLLIN’!
The jackpot for the Irish National Lottery has not been won in over 6 months!
The last Irish lotto jackpot was won Saturday 5th June 2021, the jackpot then was €2.5 million (approximately £2.1 million) and has since rolled over to reach its cap of a whopping €19.6 million (approximately £16.2 million). The jackpot has remained capped at €19.6 million since Wednesday 29th September.
This incredible run of rollovers is unprecedented in the history of the Irish lotto. The jackpot will eventually be won, but as a result, lower tier prizes have been boosted by millions of Euros due to the available extra funds.
A mega €1 million (approximately £850,000) was won by a lucky punter who matched 5 plus the bonus on the recent draw which took place on Saturday 4th December.
The Irish lottery has long been popular amongst UK lotto enthusiasts, although until recently, it has been impossible to play without taking a trip across the Irish Sea.
With the biggest ever Irish lotto jackpot now up for grabs plus all the extra chances to win big pay outs from other tiers, it’s the lottery that everyone in the UK is talking about this Christmas.
Unfortunately, physical Irish lotto tickets are still not sold in the UK, nor can you purchase them via the official Irish lottery website, but do not despair. You can still win the Irish lotto jackpot even if you are in the UK. The way to do this is online via an authorised lotto betting company called Lottoland.
IT’S ALL LEGIT!
Whilst it may not be the conventional way of taking part in the lottery, betting on the results of the lottery online is a totally legal practise. Lottoland is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and Ireland’s National Excise License Office. In fact, Lottoland holds a Guinness World Record for the largest online gambling pay-out. This amazing pay-out was to the tune of €90 million (approximately £76.5 million), which was won by a lucky winner from Germany in 2018. You can rest assured that you will receive your winnings.
WHY BET ON THE IRISH LOTTO?
Although the jackpot has not been won in over six months, the odds of winning are much more favourable than the odds of winning the UK National Lottery. Irish lotto jackpot odds stand at only 1 in 10,737,573 compared to 1 in 45,057,474 for its British counterpart, this means that you have 4x as much of a chance of winning the Irish lotto compared to the UK lotto.
Add to that the chance to win fantastic lower tier prizes, especially at present with the added funds, plus the fact that you have an incredible 1 in 29 chance of winning any prize, and you can see why UK punters are searching for their pot of gold!
HOW DOES THE IRISH LOTTERY WORK?
Simply choose six numbers from 1 to 47 or opt for the QuickPick option to randomly select your numbers. Additionally, you can enter the Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 draws for an extra fee of €1 (£1 with Lottoland). To win the jackpot, you need to match all six numbers.
Draws take place twice a week, on Saturdays and Wednesdays at 19.55 Hrs.
ONLINE IS THE ONLY WAY!
Aside from giving you the chance to bet on a foreign lottery and the convenience of doing it from anywhere with an internet connection, there are special features which are available when you bet on the Irish lottery only at Lottoland.
Christmas may be the time for sharing but if you would rather be a Scrooge when it comes lottery winnings the NumberShield feature is for you.
NumberShield is a special feature exclusive to Lottoland which enables you to block your numbers so others cannot choose them, meaning if your numbers come up, you take the full jackpot!
You don’t have to worry about forgetting to buy your numbers as Lottoland gives you the option to enter the draw automatically every week for up to 52 weeks.
Another way to take advantage is to join an online lotto syndicate so you can bet on hundreds of lines at a time. The current record Irish Lotto jackpot stands at €18.9 million and was won by a syndicate from Bennekerry, County Carlow.
Hopefully this record will be smashed by Christmas, now that sure would be a cracker! Or should we say, ‘it’d be a craic to be sure!’