Ireland has welcomed upwards of ten new millionaires to the ranks of its wealthiest citizens so far this year thanks to Lotto wins.
Prize tallies revealed Lotto bosses forked out a record €288 million to lucky winners in the first three months of the year alone.
In the entire first half of last year total winnings had reached just €226.2 million by late June.
The sudden surge can largely be attributed to the €175.4 million EuroMillions jackpot claimed by the ‘Naul Family Syndicate’ in February.
Following their win the Irish Mirror exclusively revealed that the fortuitous family met every Sunday to play the lotto before they won big.
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That win alone created multiple millionaires as estimates at the time suggested that each member of the syndicate would pocket over €29 million each.
More than 10.5 million players won cash prizes varying from small amounts to multiple millions.
So far this year there has been two Lotto jackpot prize wins, three new millionaires on the Lotto Plus 1 and four on the Four Daily Millions.
Seven lucky Irish punters also won the EuroMillions Plus top prize of €500,000 each.
Offline players won bigger with just €7.8m of the total prize money won by online users.
Players also raised over €60 million for charities and worthy causes through ticket purchases since January.
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Lotto CEO Dermot Griffin said the largest ever Euromillions jackpot win by the Naul based family was “an incredible start to the year”.
Despite so many wins early in the year he added that lotto is “not all about big prizes”.
He said that by playing the lotto customers “raised over €60million in much needed funds for local good causes and projects that both enrich and improve the quality of life in their local communities.”
Almost 30 cent in every euro spent on the games goes into funding charities, causes and local facilities around the country.
The lotto boss said the impact of the funds “can be seen in every parish, village, town and city right across the country”.
Mr Griffin said: “The National Lottery was established with the express purpose of raising funds for individuals and groups in the areas of sport, youth, health, community, arts, heritage and the Irish language”.
