National Lottery regulator says operator breached licence

The National Lottery regulator has found operator Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) breached its licence in an incident that may have led to hundreds of players not claiming their prizes.

The breach related to a technical issue in 2022 and may have contributed to up to 394 prizes worth at most €2,299 going unclaimed.

One of the prizes was worth €250, with the others ranging from €2 to €24.

The problem arose following a third-party software update sometime between September and October of 2022.

It led to a number of players accessing the "Check My Numbers" facility on the lottery website when it should not have been available.

This is because the results of that particular draw were still being checked.

Some of the players received a message saying their ticket was not a winner when in fact the numbers were winning numbers from that draw.

The regulator said the issue only impacted the website and the "Check My Numbers" facility on the National Lottery, along with the app's ticket scanner and the in-store ticket checking machines all worked as they should have.

Arising from the breach, the regulator engaged in an enforcement action and withheld €23,000 from payments owed to Premier Lotteries.

"While unclaimed prizes are a feature of all lotteries, it may be that some 394 ticket holders relied on a 'not a winner' message from the Check My Number Facility on-line, which did not yet have details of the latest draw to check against the numbers entered by players," said the Regulator of the National Lottery, Carol Boate.

"Every breach is a serious matter for my office as reflected in my decision to withhold €23,000 in funds from the operator and ensure a permanent technical solution to my full satisfaction," she added.

"I do not underestimate the potential impact that this technical error could have had on a larger prize winner," she stated.

The issue was self-identified by Premier Lotteries and reported by it to the regulator.

PLI did not profit from it and has permanently resolved the issue.

The regulator said the €2,299 in unclaimed prize money has also been returned by Premier Lotteries to players in the pool.

IT experts from Grant Thornton were also commissioned to carry out an independent assessment of Premier Lotteries prize-checking systems and no concerns were identified.

However, the regulator said the operator has decided to phase out the Check My Numbers facility as part of upgrades it is making to its online facilities due to low usage by players.

PLI said it acknowledges the decision by the regulator relating to the issue, which it said was discovered by it and self-reported.

"PLI can confirm that it did not receive any customer complaints in relation to this isolated incident nor were unclaimed prize rates above normal levels," it said.

"However, PLI has paid into the top up prize fund a sum equivalent to all expired unclaimed prizes potentially impacted. PLI has introduced a permanent solution and can confirm that the issue has not recurred."

The details of the breach are contained in the regulator's annual report for 2023.

It shows National Lottery sales fell by 6.2% in 2023, following the first decrease since the start of the current licence a year earlier.

It meant that sales last year were similar to 2018 levels, with returns to good causes also similar to that time at €227.9m.

Last year also saw a new innovation where players who have verified their identity can now move their online winnings electronically to their bank account and mid-tier prizes from online tickets are paid directly to the player's bank account.

The regulatory said improvements were also made to the National Lottery's existing self-exclusion facility on its website.

"Making it easier for players who have verified their identity to access their winnings quickly and conveniently will no doubt prove welcome amongst players, both today and for years to come," said Ms Boate.

"Additional player protections include the option to self-exclude from instant win games and marketing messages as a measure to help prevent potential problem play," she added.

Last November, PLI was sold by its owners, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, An Post and the An Post Pension Fund to La Francaise des Jeux.

PLI has a 20-year licence to operate the National Lottery, which it was granted in 2014.

The National Lottery remains owned by the Irish State.