I understand that he revenue generated by the sale of National Lottery scratch cards and other instant-win lottery games forms a substantial part of the overall contribution to the National Lottery Good Causes Fund.
In this regard, 65% of the returns from sales of National Lottery games less the prizes in those games is transferred to the Central Fund for Good Causes. This is the case regardless of whether the game is a draw-based game, a scratch card game, an instant-win game, played only in Ireland, or played across the Euro Millions community.
The percentage of the contribution to Good Causes funding each year that is derived from scratch cards and other instant-win games depends on the relative sales of these games compared to draw-based games in the year and the relative sales of different scratch cards and instant-win games in the year.
As per the published audited accounts of the National Lottery Operator, in 2020, scratch cards and instant-win games comprised €326.9m which was 36% of the €918.9m total sales for that financial year. However, one cannot apply the reported percentage of total sales paid out in prizes in 2020 (which was 57.56%) and apply 65% to calculate the returns to Good Causes from sales of scratch cards and instant-win games in 2020. This is because scratch cards and instant-win games have different, higher, prize pay outs than draw-based games, such that the percentage contribution to Good Causes will have been less than 36% of the €253.6m of Good Causes funding generated by 2020 sales.
As an example the All Cash Tripler is a scratch card game with tickets priced at €3 and a prize payout of 64%. For every €1 of sales of All Cash Tripler: 64c goes into Prizes, 23.4c goes to Good Causes, 6c goes to the retailer in commission, and the remaining 6.6c goes the Operator.
The Operator does not publish audited figures for the precise contribution to Good Causes funding each year that is derived from scratch cards and other instant-win games, in either monetary or percentage form. I would note that the Regulator of the National Lottery is aware of the percentage contribution through her Office’s regular oversight of the National Lottery. Furthermore, the Operator has confirmed that it publishes all required sales information in its audited financial accounts but considers the level of detail requested to be commercially sensitive under the Licence and is not to be disclosed. It may be noted in this regard, that that the Lottery Regulator is required under Clause 20.6 of the Licence, to seek the Operator’s consent to release such information and that consent has not been forthcoming in this instance.
