How Much Can I Win from the Irish Lottery?

June 6th, 2019

The Irish Lottery, or Irish Lotto, is one of Europe’s biggest and most popular lottery games. Even before EuroMillions was a thing, it was popular amongst Brits and other Europeans and despite so much choice, it remains popular. The main reason is the excellent prize structure and high chance of winning any prize.

What Prizes Can I Win on the Irish Lottery?

Overall, players have a 1/29 chance of winning something. You won’t find better odds on other major, popular lotteries. Players choose from 6 main balls plus the bonus ball; the full prize breakdown is:

Match 2 numbers plus the bonus: A flat €3 prize
Matching 3 numbers is a variable prize typically about €9
Match 3 numbers plus the bonus wins about €20
Match 4 numbers to win about €40
Match 4 numbers and the bonus to win approximately €130
5 numbers will land about €1,300
Matching 5 numbers plus the bonus ball and you’ll win about €80,000
Finally, of the smaller prizes, match 5 plus the bonus and you will win about €100,000

Irish Lottery Minimum Jackpot

That’s the smaller prizes, but the jackpot is much bigger. Match all 6 numbers and you will either win or share a minimum €2m jackpot. Any jackpot not claimed in a given week rolls over to the next. The jackpot will not roll over indefinitely, so you won’t see the billions of the American games. Once it reaches €18.96m, no more money goes into the jackpot fund. Instead, surplus money is added in sequence to the lower prizes.

Irish Lottery’s Biggest Ever Jackpots

There are a few Irish multimillionaires thanks to the Irish Lottery. The current record is €18.9m set in 2008. It was shared around a group of 16 quarry workers from Carlow. The record has stood unchallenged for 11 years and won’t be beaten now until the cap is raised, whenever that might be. The second highest went to an anonymous resident in Dungarvan, Co Waterford; they claimed €16.7m. The third highest winner was also in 2010 and worth €16.3m. Two big winners in one year made the Irish Lottery very popular for a while.

Plus 1 and Plus 2

These are bolt-on games that give you extra chances of winning. It’s simple: you enter your line of numbers into a draw for a second and third round of prizes. Each line costs just €1 for each Lotto Plus 1 and another €1 for each Lotto Plus 2 entry.

Lotto Plus 1 Prizes

Match 6 (top prize): €1m
Match 5 + Bonus: €5,000
Match 5: €500
Match 4 + Bonus: €50
Match 4: €20
Match 3 + Bonus: €10
Match 3: €3
Match 2 + Bonus: €2 Daily Million

Lotto Plus 2 Prizes

Match 6 (top prize): €250,000
Match 5 + Bonus: €2,500
Match 5: €250
Match 4 + Bonus: €25
Match 4: €10
Match 3 + Bonus: €50
Match 3: €3
Match 2 + Bonus: €2 Daily Million

And finally, there is the Lotto Plus Raffle. Lotto Plus players are automatically entered and can win a single cash prize of €500.