The Irish National Lottery has initiated the biggest upgrade to its products in eight years.
The lottery, operated by Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), has retired two balls from its product, numbers 46 and 47.
This reduces the number of balls from 47 to 45, creating better chances of winning in Lotto, Lotto Plus One and Lotto Plus Two draws.
According to the National Lottery, the odds of winning its top jackpot have been cut from one in 10.7 million to one in 8.1 million.
The lottery has also increased the top prize in the Lotto Plus Two draw from €250,000 to €1m, although the Lotto Plus One top prize will remain at €1m.
Much like the counterparts on the other side of the Irish Sea, Allwyn and the UK National Lottery, PLI and the Irish National Lottery likely hope that increasing prizes and cutting odds will help sell more tickets.
This ultimately results not only in more revenue for the National Lottery and FDJ United-owned PLI, but also in more returns for good causes – ultimately the main metric the Irish government will judge the National Lottery and PLI”s success on.
“These changes mark an exciting new chapter for our flagship game – Lotto,” said Cian Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the National Lottery.
“We’ve been listening to our players, and these enhancements have been designed with our players front of mind and with the goal of creating the best possible game experience.”
“By removing two balls, the odds of winning have improved across Lotto and the Plus games, while the enhanced Lotto Plus 2 prize and an additional draw night will give players even more chances to win.
“Together, these changes are all about delivering more winners and more millionaires, reinforcing Lotto’s position as Ireland’s Millionaire Maker.”
The announcement comes shortly after the lottery renewed its contract with Greek-American lottery technology firm Bally’s Intralot for a further seven years.