The National Lottery wants the Government to ban the practice of betting on National Lottery games in bookmakers and on betting apps.
It points to a new report carried out by consultants Indicon, which states that around €289 million euro in potential lottery sales has been diverted to bookmakers because of lottery betting, resulting in losses for smaller retailers and less money for Good Causes.
The report, carried out by Indecon International Economic and Strategic Consultants, also shows the significant positive societal contribution that the National Lottery continues to have right across Ireland, supporting over €15 billion in economic output since 2018 and 18,000 jobs in 2024.
The National Lottery says that they are being undermined by lottery betting in bookmakers and on betting apps.
In a statement, it says that such betting, which is already outlawed in 25 out of 27 EU states, is having a significant negative impact on National Lottery receipts and reducing potential funding for both Good Causes and the wider Irish economy.
In 2024, it is estimated that potential funding for Good Causes was reduced by around €81m and potential retail sales of National Lottery products was reduced by €238m.
Further analysis found that in 2024, the practice of lottery betting led to an estimated loss of 1,929 jobs across the retail sector and among Good Causes beneficiaries, and reduced national economic output across Retail and Good Causes sector by €125.7m.
It also resulted in a direct loss of approximately €12.7m in Exchequer revenues, and is estimated to have reduced the value of the National Lottery licence to the State by between €118m and €250m.
Lottery betting causing 'player confusion'
CEO of the National Lottery Cian Murphy has said that the betting on the lottery is causing "player confusion".
He said that for over 40 years, the National Lottery has been a positive in Irish society.
"Our players have generated over €7bn for good causes, and we've created over 1,000 millionaires. And this report highlights the positive impact of the National Lottery on the economy of Ireland, supporting in 2024 over €2bn in economic activity and over 18,000 jobs," he said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
Mr Murphy said the report also highlights the impact that lottery betting is having on the National Lottery, "and one of the key reasons for that is actually player confusion".
"Most players who play bookies lotto believe that they're playing, participating in the National Lottery, but they're not. And indeed, a third of them believe that they're contributing to good causes, but they're not."
He said that player confusion leads people to think that they are participating in the National Lottery.
"If you look at some of these products, they are absolutely indistinguishable from a National Lottery product. So they're marketed as Play Irish Lotto, and they'd return the same prizes."
Mr Murphy added: "The core of the National Lottery is that societal dividend. It's that contribution to Good Causes. And it is true that the prizes on some of the bookmakers' products can be higher than the National Lottery.
"That is for sure true. But that is because that money for that extra prize is coming directly from the good cause contribution."
He explained that for every euro spent with the National Lottery, almost 30 cent of it goes back directly into the Good Cause Fund and then directly to those four and a half thousand beneficiaries across Ireland.
"That's orders of magnitude more than any other."
Mr Murphy said that most people would agree that the National Lottery is gambling, "but also I think most would agree that playing the lotto is very different from betting on horses or blackjack or roulette.
He said that across Europe there is an issue with people using bookies to bet on the lottery.
"25 from 27 EU member states already banned this practice and they banned this practice because it protects the National Lottery and it protects the integrity of the National Lottery.
"We think that now is the time for Ireland to follow our EU neighbours and to ban that practice."
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Monopolising market share
The chairperson of the Irish Bookmakers Association says efforts by the National Lottery to stop the practice of betting on National Lottery games is nothing more than an attempt to monopolise the market share.
Sharon Byrne said the product offered in betting shops is "100% different" to anything the National Lottery offers.
"They've exhausted every other avenue. They've put their machines into discount stores, they've put them into petrol stations," she said on RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh.
"They've landed them in the middle of the chocolate bars and the petrol stations where children are frequenting. It's just another attempt by them to grab market share of a product that they don't offer."
She said that the National Lottery dictate the minimum amount a customer must spend.
"Our punters, that have been betting for over 30 years on the products in our shops can spend 10-30c a line, what they can afford ... The one or two numbers coming out are the most popular products that we will sell in relation to lottery."
Ms Byrne said the bookmakers offer fixed odds and it is completely different to the lottery.
She added that the betting shops pay betting duties on every bet, which goes into the central exchequer which then funds various causes.
Ms Byrne acknowledged that the practice is banned in a number of EU countries but pointed out that different countries take different approaches to gambling products.
"For example, in the UK, where it is banned, they can bet on the Irish lottery, but not in the UK lottery. They offer slot-machine type products in their shops. Over in Portugal or Spain, they offer alcohol.
"You can sit down and have a pint when you're having a bet in the shop, each country offers different ways of betting shop environments and products."
