€289 million was sent to the Exchequer to be used by good causes. This is a 14% increase on the previous year and a record figure since Irish National Lottery operator Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) received its licence in 2014.

Under the terms of the National Lottery license, almost 30 cents from every €1 spent on National Lottery games is directed to good causes. Areas covered include sport and recreation, national culture and heritage (including the Irish language), the arts, the health of the community, youth, welfare and amenities, and the natural environment.

Charities Institute Ireland (Cii) CEO Áine Myler said:

“Receiving a grant has a positive effect on many charities to deliver new projects, and means core services are maintained.”

Also commenting on the development, The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath added:

“The National Lottery is a significant asset which plays an important role in generating funds for Good Causes throughout Ireland and across a range of areas including sport and recreation, culture and heritage, community health, the arts, and youth affairs. 

“It is absolutely critical that members of the public and those who play the National Lottery are fully aware of how this funding is accessed and distributed to good causes, to the benefit of local communities. €6 billion has been raised for good causes since the National Lottery commenced operations in 1987.”

Cii is currently working with a consultancy firm commissioned by the government to undertake a review of how National Lottery funding is distributed in Ireland, with a new and transparent funding model expected to be introduced later in 2022, once the report has been published.

Picture by Paulo Diniz on Pixabay

Statistics from the Swedish gambling authority Lotteriinspektionen show that 23% of gambling in Sweden is currently operated by companies without a licence. The investigation has been proposed as a way of promoting responsible gambling and improving consumer protection, as well as to make the gambling market more attractive to large-scale operators.

However, while revenue from lotteries has historically been tax-free for charities, currently providing the sector with more than €1.6bn a year, it is feared that the new system may lack vital special terms, including tax exemption on income, for non-profit lotteries.

Simon Holmesson, political secretary at IOGT-NTO said:

“Funding through lotteries makes voluntary organisations more independent and less reliant on government funding. It is crucial that the new system proposes special terms for voluntary organisations that would enable them to operate lotteries and other gambling products without paying any tax on their resulting revenue.”

The investigation is also expected to review the need for additional requirements on the marketing of gambling and lotteries, and to look at how to prevent unlicensed service providers from marketing their services in Sweden.

The results of the investigation are due to be made public on 31 March 2017 when it will then go to consultation with the aim of taking the proposals to Parliament in June 2018. The new system would then be expected to come into effect in January 2019.