National Lottery unveils series of changes to Lotto games

The National Lottery has revealed a series of significant changes to its Lotto and Lotto Plus games.

The organisation has stated that the changes were made ‘with one clear ambition: to create more millionaires across the country’.

Arriving in autumn, the updates to the games will be the first time the Lotto has changed in eight years.

To slightly cut the odds, the number of balls will be reduced from 47 to 45, marking the official retirement of numbers 46 and 47 from play.

Each of the individual draws will see the odds of winning the jackpot or top prize improve from 1 in 10.7 million to 1 in 8.1 million.

The Lotto Plus 2 top prize will also increase from €250,000 to €1million, creating more opportunities to make brand-new millionaires.

The Lotto Plus 1 top prize will remain at €1million, meaning that for every draw with Lotto Plus, players will have three ways to become a millionaire.

Players will also have more chances to play and win each week, with a new Lotto draw being added on Monday.

National Lottery CEO Cian Murphy said: ‘These changes mark an exciting new chapter for our flagship game – Lotto. We’ve been listening to our players, and these enhancements have been designed with our players front of mind and with the goal of creating the best possible game experience.

‘By removing two balls, the odds of winning have improved across Lotto and the Plus games, while the enhanced Lotto Plus 2 prize and an additional draw night will give players even more chances to win.

‘Together, these changes are all about delivering more winners and more millionaires, reinforcing Lotto’s position as Ireland’s Millionaire Maker.’

Each of the Lotto draws on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday will be livestreamed at 7.55pm on the National Lottery website and broadcast before the Nine O’Clock News on RTE One.

There are no changes to the price to play either Lotto or the Lotto Plus games.

The minimum purchase will remain two lines for €4 and it will continue to cost €6 to play two lines of Lotto with Lotto Plus, which includes both the Lotto Plus One and Lotto Plus Two draws.