National Lottery
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-17
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Frankie Feighan (FG), Sligo-Leitrim

The authority has received submissions on this issue from Premier Lotteries Ireland, the Irish Postmasters Union and others.
It is carrying out research on regulatory approaches in other EU and EEA jurisdictions as part of its engagement with the authority on this matter. Premier Lotteries Ireland has made the case that prohibiting betting on the lottery will enhance the revenue for good causes.
In its engagement with the GRAI, which is an independent regulator operating within its own statutory framework, this Department’s perspective has been informed by two important considerations. The first is protecting the value and reputation of the national lottery while the second is ensuring the long-term sustainability of the national lottery and subsequently the indirect safeguarding of good causes funding into the future as a result. These considerations are effectively linked with the brand and reputation of the national lottery feeding into the revenue for good causes. As such, the Department has emphasised that any action which protects and enhances the reputation of the national lottery and protects and supports the revenue for good causes would be welcome. This is the key concern of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and his Department. The Department has already engaged with the GRAI and we are open to further engagement. We are very conscious of the very valuable investment in our communities funded by the national lottery and everything we do in this regard will be informed by the core consideration to maintain the relevance and value of the national lottery for future generations.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-17