The amount paid out in prize money by the operator of the National Lottery last year slumped by more than €100m.
That is according to new accounts by Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC (PLI) which show that prize money for 2022 was €484.9m - a drop of €101m on the €585.9m paid out in prize money in 2021.
The sharp drop in prize money last year followed ticket sale revenues decreasing by 16% or €169.6m from a record high in 2021 of €1.053bn to €884.1m last year.
In a separate report published this week, the regulator of the National Lottery stated that the sales decrease had been expected because there had been unprecedented Lotto rollovers which drove sales higher than normal in 2021.
The new PLI accounts show that the drop in ticket sales contributed to the firm's operating profits decreasing by 67.5% from €25.3m to €8.2m.
Finance costs of €29.2m resulted in Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC recorded a pre-tax loss of €21m - more than a three fold increaseon the pre-tax loss of €6.5m incurred in 2021.
The amount paid out by the lottery operator to 'Good Causes’ last year decreased by €44.5m from €304m to €259.5m.
Under the terms of the lottery licence, 65% of sales less prizes income is paid to fund good causes.
The directors’ report states that the €484.9m prize payout as a percentage of sales was 54.84% last year compared to 55.61% in 2021.
In their report, the directors state that "actual prizes won in any year are a function of many variables including sale levels, sales mix, prize structures and the roll sequence pattern of draws".
The directors state that sales of draw based games last year were €585.4m compared to €708.4m in 2021 and the sales of scratch card/interactive instant win games were €298.7m compared to €345.3m in 2021.
The directors state that the PLI retail network at the end of December 2022 stood at 5,225 agents compared to 5,326 at the end of 2021.
They state that sales through digital channels were €141.4m and represented 16% of all sales compared to online sales of €175m in 2021 which represented 16.6% of all sales.
The company’s profits were hit during the year in €1.3m in non trading costs that related to restructuring costs of €500,000 and and a €800,000 impairment loss on a tangible asset.
The pre-tax loss last year takes account of combined non-cash amortisation and depreciation costs of €31.3m.
On the company's future developments, the directors state that PLI is focused on growing sales, offering players a wide choice of games and maximising the funds raised for good causes.
Numbers employed by PLI last year increased from 207 to 214 as staff costs declined from €19.8m to €19.1m.
Key management personnel were paid €2.3m compared to €3.5m in 2021. Directors’ pay last year totalled €600,000 made up of emoluments of €500,000 and pension contributions of €100,000.
In July, it was announced that PLI was sold to French gaming company and lottery operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ) in a deal worth €350m.
PLI, which holds the rights to the lotto until 2034, was majority owned (80%) Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) with An Post retaining a 20pc stake in the business since 2014.
Under the terms of the deal, the entire share capital of PLI will be sold to FDL subject to regulatory approval and expected to be completed in the second half of this year.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
