In a record that may never be beaten, the National Lottery jackpot in Ireland has now not been won for 62 editions of the draw and counting.
With all of those consecutive rollovers, the jackpot has now reached a meaty €19 million (£15.8 million). But plans for a ‘must win’ draw to finally end the streak have been given short shrift by the Irish regulator.
The plan was that if nobody matched all six numbers, the jackpot would then be trousered by those with a ticket containing five numbers and the bonus ball….and so on until a winner or winners can be made.
Premier Lotteries Ireland, who oversee the draw, have pleaded with the Office of the Lottery Regulator to introduce the extraordinary step, however officials believe that the draw should continue as normal until a winning ticket is eventually crowned.
But the door has not been completely closed on the idea, with lead regulatory chief Carol Boate suggesting that a change could be made if in ‘the interest of players, ensuring the National Lottery is run with all due propriety and, subject to these, that good causes are maximised.’
For now, however, the Irish National Lottery will continue as normal….ensuring that a staggering jackpot prize could be and – surely at some point in the near future – will be won.
Bren Nolan, a professor in mathematics at the Dublin City University, has revealed that the odds of a continued rollover since June 9 – the last time the lottery was won – are around 850/1, and that the odds for the Irish lotto to be won in any given week is ‘around 12-15%.’
What is the Longest Lottery Rollover in History?
To say that the situation in Ireland is unprecedented would be an understatement. The current number of rollovers is 62 and counting….the previous record for the Irish draw was just 22.
The UK’s National Lottery, meanwhile, already has a rollover limit built into the competition’s terms and conditions. The Lotto draw can be rolled over a maximum of five times in a row, and then the ‘must win’ format – like the one requested in Ireland – is introduced to ensure that somebody takes home the giant cheque.
That hasn’t always been the case, however, and the record rollover once hit 15 Lotto draws between November 2015 and January 2016. The jackpot reached £66 million, and that was shared by two sets of rather happy winners.
The EuroMillions also has its own rollover limit, although that is a monetary figure rather than a number of draws. Once the €230 million (£191 million) cap has been reached, and then stays at that amount for five more consecutive draws, the next becomes ‘must win’.
That has only happened twice in the two-decade long history of the EuroMillions, with the most recent coming in October when a French player snaffled a record £184 million prize – making them instantly richer than a host of stars including the singer Adele.