Lottery created 23 millionaires in 2018
The National Lottery created 23 new millionaires this year, paying out a whopping €436m in prizes. Dublin, Tipperary, and Cork were the top three luckiest counties.
The biggest jackpot of 2018 was the life-changing €17m EuroMillions won by the Stakelums Hardware syndicate in Thurles, Co Tipperary, in June.
That win brought to 13 the number of EuroMillions winners in Ireland since the game was launched in 2004.
Meanwhile, 13 Lotto jackpot winners shared €67.7m this year, with the highest Lotto win of the year a cool €8,549,067 in May, won by a Galway-based syndicate which bought its ticket at the Corrib Oil Service Station, Loughrea.
Dublin is again the luckiest National Lottery county for the year, with €30m paid out to players in 49 top-tier wins in EuroMillions, Lotto, Daily Millions, and Telly Bingo.
Tipperary comes in second, thanks mainly to the Stakelums win, with players in the premier county scooping €19,537,541 in 10 big wins.
Cork, meanwhile, came in third, with €19.1m in 19 top-tier wins.
The top 10 list of lucky lottery counties also included Galway, Limerick, Donegal, Meath, Cavan, Wexford, and Waterford.
Two winners in Meath collected just over €4.7m, while eight winners in Waterford shared just over €2.9m.
According to the National Lottery, figures show that more than 57 cents in every euro spent on National Lottery games went back into the pockets of players, the highest percentage payout since the National Lottery was established, 31 years ago.
Under the terms of its licence, the National Lottery is required to pay a minimum of 50 cents in every euro in prizes.
The figures also show a record year for scratch card wins, with €161.6m won by lucky players, with 28 winners in Ireland of the EuroMillions Plus top prize of €500,000.
The chief executive of the National Lottery, Dermot Griffin, said 2018 has been a record year for payouts.
“We are especially proud that, thanks to the support we have received from our players for all games, we raised over €227m in good causes this year, or more than €620,000 a day,” he said.
“This money is supporting communities and projects all over Ireland, in the areas of health, sport, welfare, arts, and culture.”
Meanwhile, the creation of another millionaire is guaranteed on New Year’s Eve, thanks to the Christmas Millionaire Raffle draw, which takes place at 10pm.
As well as a guaranteed top prize of €1m, there are an additional 5,567 more prizes ranging from €500 to €250,000.
