How to Play the Irish Lotto

Find out more about the Irish Lotto, including the rules of the game and how people based in the UK can bet on the outcome. Discover which are the most and least common balls drawn, and the amount of the record Irish Lotto jackpot win.

The Irish Lotto has been running since 1987, although the first draw didn’t take place until April 1988. This lottery has long been a favourite with punters from the UK, mainly due to the fact that the Irish Lotto has considerably better odds than the UK lottery, while still offering multi-million euro prizes. The Irish Lotto has a minimum jackpot set at €2 million, but regularly far exceeds this amount, with the record single ticket winner bringing home a jackpot of €16.7 Million. The biggest ever Irish Lotto jackpot was for the amount of €18.7 Million, and this was won by a syndicate made up of quarry workers.

How it Works

There are 47 balls in the Irish Lotto – increased from 45 in 2015 – and you must pick 6 numbers plus an additional bonus number from these. This means that the odds of winning the top prize are about 10.7 million to one, compared to the UK lottery odds of about 14 million to one. Jackpots are won when you match all 6 main numbers. With the Irish Lotto you also have the option to bet on the Lotto Plus draw for an extra 50p, which gives you two extra chances to win on the Lotto Plus 1 and Plus 2 draws for lower jackpot amounts. That means that at Lottoland you can bet just £2.50 to have three chances of winning a top prize. The draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday.

What are the Hottest Numbers?

As the Irish Lotto has a 30 year history, it has produced strong statistical data when it comes to the numbers drawn most and least often. The most common lotto numbers drawn (at time of writing) are: 2, 12, 38, 10, 27, 6 and 39. That list shows the numbers picked starting from the most commonly drawn number 2, which has been picked 10 more times than the next highest number. Naturally 46 and 47 are the least picked numbers since they have only been available for the past couple of years. If we ignore these, then the least commonly drawn numbers – starting from the least picked - are: 25, 33, 19, 16, 14 and 20.  

Betting on the Irish Lotto with Lottoland

When you visit Lottoland you will have the option to place a variety of bets on the Irish Lotto. The simplest option is just to bet on a random line for £2, and most people prefer to add the Lotto Plus option for an extra 50p. Many lottery jackpots are won by syndicates, and Lottoland allows you the option to place a Syndicate bet where from as little as a fiver you can spread your bet over 210 lines to boost your winning chances. There is also a Double Jackpot feature, so if the current jackpot isn’t big enough for you then you can opt to double your bet and double the jackpot at the same time. Check them out to see if the luck of the Irish is smiling on you this week!