Summary of Operator’s Rules for Irish National Lottery ‘Lotto’

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The Irish National Lottery’s ‘Lotto’ has made changes to the number of balls in the pool, the frequency of draws and some prize amounts, with the first draw under the new rules coming into effect for our matching Irish Lotto on Sunday 6th September 2026 AEST. See the draw timetable below:

Draw Timetable
Irish National Lottery	Our Irish Lotto
Monday	Tuesday
Wednesday	Thursday
Saturday	Sunday
All draws about 8pm GMT (Dublin Time)	All draws about 6am AEST

Irish Lotto is still a number draw game in which players must now select 6 numbers from a pool of 1 to 45. For each draw, 6 numbers are randomly selected plus a single additional bonus number. There is still a minimum jackpot prize of €2 million; when it is not won, it is increased for the following draw. There are now three draws per week, as per the table above. As shown in the table below, because the odds of winning have been improved, (meaning more winners), the lower division prizes have reduced somewhat.

Lotto Divisions

Matched Numbers	Winnings*
Match 6	Jackpot (minimum guaranteed €2 million)
Match 5 + Bonus	€75,000
Match 5	€1,200
Match 4 + Bonus	€120
Match 4	€40
Match 3 + Bonus	€20
Match 3	€4

*All prizes in the above table are quoted in EUR. Prize value may vary significantly depending on the number of winners and the amount accumulated in prize pool for any given draw.

Odds

Matched Numbers	Odds of Winning
6 main numbers	1 in 8,145,060
5 main numbers + Bonus Ball	1 in 1,357,510
5 main numbers	1 in 35,724
4 main numbers + Bonus Ball	1 in 14,290
4 main numbers	1 in 772
3 main numbers + Bonus Ball	1 in 579
3 main numbers	1 in 48

*Note the above odds were not obtained from the official Lottery Operator’s website.

Irish National Lottery’s ‘Lotto’ Jackpot Cap

There is also a reduction in the jackpot cap which is now a cap of €16 million. When the cap has been reached for a draw and the jackpot is not won, the funds that would normally go towards increasing the jackpot for the next draw are instead allocated to the next highest prize division with a winner.

The jackpot cap can remain in place for 5 draws maximum. If the jackpot is not won by the fifth draw, it becomes a ‘Will Be Won’ draw. For a ‘Will Be Won’ draw, unwon jackpots will roll down to the next highest division with a winner.

In each draw, only one prize can be won per game

Each single game on a winning ticket can only win one prize category. The highest prize won only will be paid out per winning game.

Taxes

Lottery winnings are not currently taxed in Ireland.

Promotional Prizes

From time to time the Lottery Operator may offer promotional prizes to ticket holders within its own country. These are excluded from the prizes that can be won by The Lottery Office players. The divisional prizes listed above are the valid prizes offered by The Lottery Office.

Lotto Plus

The Irish National Lottery also operates Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 as optional add-on games to the main Lotto draw, for an additional cost per line. The Lottery Office does not offer these optional add-on games, and their prizes are not available to The Lottery Office players.

Version 2: Last updated on 3 September 2026

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