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€19 Million Irish Lottery Jackpot - New Record!
7 MONTHS OF JACKPOT DROUGHT END AS “LUCKIEST TOWN IN EUROPE” LIVES UP TO ITS NAME
After an incredible 62 draws without a jackpot win, the Irish lottery jackpot was finally won on Saturday 15th of January. Remarkably, the jackpot was won in Castlebar, County Mayo, a town already famous for producing big jackpot winners.
The unprecedented run of rollovers began on Saturday 12th of June. The previous draw had been held on June 9th, 2021, when a jackpot of €2 million (£1.7 million) was won. Premier Lotteries Ireland, the operators of the Irish National Lottery, would never have imagined that it would be another 7 months until the next jackpot would be won. By Saturday 2nd of October, the Irish lottery jackpot had hit its cap of €19 million (£15.9 million), where it remained until January 2022.
Public outcry and media attention led to members of the Irish parliament questioning why the jackpot was taking so long to be won and there were calls for an investigation to be carried out. This led to Premier Lotteries Ireland requesting a change to the rules to enable a ‘must-win’ draw, which was eventually granted by Carol Boate, the lottery regulator.
Under the ‘must-win’ rule, should the jackpot not be won, the full prize amount would flow down to the winner(s) of the following prize tier. In order to avoid a repeat of the situation, future Irish lottery jackpots will be capped for a maximum of five draws, after which a ‘must-win’ draw will take place.
In the end, the €19 million (£15.9 million) Irish lottery jackpot was won ‘naturally’ by a single ticket which matched all 6 numbers and the ‘must-win’ rule was not needed.
The lucky numbers were 02,09,16,30,37 and 40.
HUNDREDS OF PUNTERS WIN SECOND TIER PRIZES
Although frustrating for operators and punters alike, there was a positive aspect of the jackpot rollover which benefitted lotto players.
Huge amounts of extra funds were made available as the jackpot kept on filtering down to the secondary prizes after each draw.
On the draw which took place on Saturday 12th June, 149 players won €36,687 (£30,600) as a second prize by matching 5 numbers plus the bonus ball of 23. A further 250 players won €1,366 (£1,140) as a third prize, matching 5 numbers.
A jackpot of €250,000 (£209,000) was won on the Lotto Plus 2 draw, with the lucky numbers 06,11,19,23,26,44 and bonus ball of 16. The Lotto Plus 1 jackpot of €1 million (£836,000) was not won.
“LUCKIEST TOWN IN EUROPE”
The town of Castlebar in County Mayo has a population of just over 12,000. In the last 7 years, a combined €80 million (£67 million) has been won on the lotto. Three of these wins were EuroMillions jackpots.
The lucky streak began in 2014 with a €15 million (£12.5 million) win, followed by a huge €29 million (£24 million) in 2019 and another €17 million (£14.2 million) the following year.
Alan Mulroy of Mulroy’s Londis still had the sign displayed on his shop window saying ‘Luckiest Town in Europe’ when the new Irish lottery jackpot of €19 million was won. Alan won a tidy €25,000 (£21,000) for selling the winning €17 million (£14.2 million) EuroMillions ticket in 2019.
The latest shop owner to receive a welcome prize is Laura Scriney, who owns Laura’s XL on Hopkin’s Road. Laura stands to make €15,000 (£12,500) on the Irish lottery jackpot win. She described the win as a “mixture of emotions” as her grandmother passed away just a week before the win but the “money will be very welcome” as “it’s been a difficult two years”.
The shop had been closed on the Wednesday and Thursday before the Saturday win. Leading Laura to believe that the ticket was purchased either on Friday or Saturday, although she confessed to “not having a clue” who purchased the ticket, which was a QuickPick.
As is imaginable, in a small town there was much speculation about who the winner could be. Laura added, “We get customers from all over as Castlebar is such a popular shopping town. The winner could be from Bangor Erris, Claremorris or Ballinrobe, anywhere. I have my regulars but there’s plenty coming from further afield. Whoever won, I wish them the best of luck”.
The big win has been a welcome distraction from the doom and gloom since the pandemic began. According to Alan Mulroy, “there’s a great atmosphere and nobody is talking about Covid”.
HOW TO BET ON THE IRISH LOTTO FROM THE UK
The good news for UK lotto enthusiasts is that you don’t need to purchase a physical ticket to take part in the Irish lotto. You could be in with a chance of winning the Irish lottery jackpot by betting on the Irish lottery at Lottoland. Lottoland is an online betting company based in Gibraltar which is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and the Irish National Excise License Office.