Almost 400 prizes from the Irish National Lottery may have gone unclaimed due to a technical hitch that left operator Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) in breach of its licence, according to the Regulator of the National Lottery (RNL).
As reported by RTE, the tech issue – a third-party software update that impacted Premier Lotteries – took place in 2022. RNL said it may have contributed to 394 National Lottery prizes, worth up to €2,299 (£1,922/$2,497), remaining unclaimed.
The largest prize that was not claimed stood at €250, with others ranging from €2 to €24.
According to the RNL, the software update was carried out between September and October of 2022. It impacted the ‘Check My Numbers’ feature on the Lottery’s app, where players can see if they have a winning match.
Players could access Check My Numbers when it should not have been available as numbers were still being checked. This meant some players received a message saying their ticket was not a winner when they had actually won.
RNL made clear the tech issue only impacted the website feature. In-store ticket checking machines worked as they should have been at the time.
PLI self-reported the issue to RNL and has since resolved the error. However, as the hitch was deemed a breach of licence, the regulator withheld €23,000 from payments owed to PLI.
The €2,299 in unclaimed prize money has also been returned by PLI to players in the pool. RNL also confirmed PLI did not profit from the issue.
Every breach a “serious matter” for regulator
Commenting on the case, Carol Boate of the RNL said although the error did not impact the largest prize winners, it was still deemed a “serious” breach.
“While unclaimed prizes are a feature of all lotteries, it may be that some 394 ticket holders relied on a ‘not a winner’ message from the Check My Number Facility online, which did not yet have details of the latest draw to check against the numbers entered by players,” Boate said.
“Every breach is a serious matter for my office. This is reflected in my decision to withhold €23,000 in funds from the operator and ensure a permanent technical solution to my full satisfaction.
Check My Numbers feature removed for National Lottery players
IT experts were commissioned to carry out an independent assessment of the PLI prize-checking systems. While no concerns were identified, the Check My Numbers feature is being phased out.
Responding to the case, PLI said it did not receive any customer complaints over the issue. It also said this was an isolated incident and unclaimed prize rates were at normal levels.
“However, PLI has paid into the top up prize fund a sum equivalent to all expired unclaimed prizes potentially impacted,” PLI said. “We have introduced a permanent solution and can confirm that the issue has not recurred.”
PLI was last year acquired by French national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) for €350m.
