The National Lottery Fund was established under the National Lottery Act 1986 and continues under the National Lottery Act 2013 as a single account held with the Central Bank of Ireland.
The Fund is managed and controlled by the Regulator.
The Regulator receives, from the Operator, monies from the sale of National Lottery tickets each week, less prizes paid out by retailers in the week and retailers’ commissions, and we then make the appropriate payment to the Operator’s Prize Fund Account, to the Operator’s own operating account and for the Regulator’s levy.
Amounts for good causes from the sales of National Lottery tickets are retained in the Fund each week by the Regulator and transferred to the Exchequer every two months.
Good Causes = (Sales – Prizes) x 65% |
An annual adjustment is performed to reflect the difference between the actual prizes that were won in the previous financial year compared to the amounts that were expected to be needed to pay prizes.
Each week we review the Operator’s “weekly settlement report” of sales of National Lottery tickets regarding each scratch card, draw based game, and online instant win game. Checks are performed regarding the amounts allocated to prizes, good causes, retailers, and the Operator. We also cross-reference this financial information with data from the Operator’s gaming system.
These weekly checks form part of a broader system of control to ensure that the revenues raised from the sale of National Lottery tickets, the amount going into prizes, the amount going to good causes and the percentage going to retailers, are all accounted for correctly. Any potential non-compliance found is considered for enforcement by the Regulator.
For information on how amounts for good causes are calculated and transferred to the Exchequer, please visit our Funds for Good Causes section here.