Irish lottery online revenues up 43 percent

The national lottery in Ireland saw internet sales soar 43 percent in 2012, but despite this strong online performance, revenue generated for good causes fell to Euro 225 million, reports the Irish Times.

The support for charity and sports causes was the lowest in the past six years as overall ticket sales eased, the newspaper reports.

Online sales, a key selling point in the upcoming auction of a new 20-year licence to operate the business, increased by 43 percent to Euro 8.7 million as the number of registered online players rose to 40,000.

Lottery officials emphasised that online numbers constitute a small proportion of overall sales because the operator is restricted, obliging players to go through a cumbersome registration process.

Under the new licencing terms, the rules governing online sales will be relaxed to help the next operator grow the business online.

Overall sales of lotto tickets and scratch cards fell by 3.5 percent to Euro 735.1 million last year in what the company described as “a challenging retail environment”.

The company’s main lotto draw game, which accounts for 46 percent of turnover, saw sales fall by 10 percent to Euro 339.7 million in 2012, reflecting lower average jackpot levels during the year.

The combined sales of EuroMillions and EuroMillions Plus, however, rose by 3.3 percent to Euro 176.1 million, whilst scratch card sales increased 3.2 percent to Euro 163.5 million.

The business has generated Euro 4.2 billion for good causes since its launch 26 years ago.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has pledged to ring-fence at least 30.5 per cent of revenue for good causes.

National Lottery players shared total winnings of Euro 406.4 million, representing a 55 percent prize pay-out level.

The largest individual jackpot win of the year was Euro 8.7 million.