Inadequate controls and human error led to Lotto players losing out on winnings, a Regulator has found.
The Regulator of the National Lottery has released the findings of its independent inquiry into an issue relating to three scratch card games operated by Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC (PLI).
The Regulator’s inquiry focused on incorrect numbers of top prizes attached to two scratch card games from 2019 (Congratulations 186 and Congratulations 223), and a scratch card game that ran in 2015 (Diamond Bingo Doubler), where the stated number of top prizes available did not in fact match the number of top prizes approved for each game originally.
However, the regulator is happy that Lotto chiefs acted transparently and this was not an intentional fault but instead down to human error.
They have now put in place better controls and have also taken on the cost of fixing the issue.
The value of the prizes were returned to players at the earliest opportunity and player numbers did not drop as a result of the findings.
A spokeswoman for the regulator said: “The matter does not concern scratch card games in circulation today, and the Regulator has checked that this issue did not arise in relation to any other scratch card or lottery games.
“The Regulator found that the breaches arose due to human error and inadequate controls on the part of the Operator. Having completed her inquiry, the Regulator is satisfied that the Operator acted transparently and in good faith, that information was not withheld from the Regulator, and that PLI staff had (mistakenly) believed the games were correctly run.
“In addition, the Operator has incurred the financial cost of rectifying the issue."
