The franchise that runs the National Lottery has reported a fourth year of higher sales as 24 millionaires were created through winning Lotto jackpots.
Premier Lotteries Ireland recorded sales of €805m for 2018, an increase from the figure of €800m the previous year.
Total funds raised for good causes last year were €228.5m, bringing the total contribution to over €860m since 2014, when PLI took over the running of the National Lottery.
During the year, PLI said that about 1.3 million people played National Lottery games on a regular basis, representing about 40% of the adult population.
However, PLI said its earnings before interest and tax fell by €7.1m to €35.6m as a result of increased investments in the business and higher staff numbers.
Its operating profits for the year fell to €5.1m from €17.4m in 2017.
PLI noted that the average number of monthly online participants grew by 13%.
Sales through its interactive channel amounted to €61.8m, which represented 7.7% of total sales and annual growth of nearly 20%.
Sales of draw-based games dipped to €537.3m from €558.8m in 2017, but scratch card and interactive instant win games sales grew by 10.9% to €267.7m.
Earlier this month, Premier Lotteries Ireland appointed Andrew Algeo as its new chief executive.
Mr Algeo will replace Dermot Griffin, who announced his intention to step down from the post earlier this year.
It is expected that Mr Algeo will take up his new role in June.
Premier Lotteries Ireland holds the exclusive licence to operate the National Lottery until the year 2034.
It is owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, An Post and An Post Pension Funds and is regulated by the Regulator of the National Lottery.
