Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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185. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which advertising forms part of the budget of the National Lottery; the sources of the total expenditure; the extent to which 90% of funds available to the National Lottery, as is claimed are returned to the local community; if the administrative costs of the operation of the lottery are therefore 10% or otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44696/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The following material has been submitted to me by the Regulator of the National Lottery for use in answering this question.

ORNL Materials

Advertising Budget

Under the terms of the Licence to operate the National Lottery, the Operator is required to advertise and promote the National Lottery in two respects:

A. Base Marketing:

The operator is required to undertake “base marketing” expenditure that is “fundamental to the promotion and operation of the National Lottery in the ordinary course”. Some of this marketing expenditure goes on advertising. Base marketing expenditure must be funded entirely by the Operator; and

B. Incremental Marketing:

“Incremental marketing” is all marketing expenditure other than base marketing. Some of this marketing expenditure goes on advertising. Incremental marketing expenditure can be funded by expired unclaimed prizes and/or by the Operator.

The current National Lottery advertisement states “Did you know that 90% of your money goes back into the community? Community means 56% Prizes, 29% Good Causes, 5% Retailer Commission. Based on 2021 financials.” The advertisement describes the remaining 10% of sales revenue as going to “Running Costs and Profit”.

The National Lottery is regulated by an independent Regulator created under the National Lottery Act 2013. As part of her role, the Regulator monitors the advertisements of the National Lottery to ensure that they are compliant with the terms of the Licence and a detailed Advertising and Promotion Code of Practice which conforms to advertising standards generally in the State.

The Regulator of the National Lottery reviewed this advertisement when it first aired and found that it complied with the Licence and the Code. As detailed below, the 90% figure is the sum of three figures that each accurately reflect the 2021 audited accounts of the Operator (shortly to be laid before the Oireachtas) and the terms of the licence to operate the National Lottery. The remainder goes to the Operator of the National Lottery.

- The figures of 56% going to prizes and 29% going to good causes used in the advertisement accurately reflect the 2021 audited accounts of the Operator of the National Lottery (extract from page 3 below),.

Extract from Audited Accounts of Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC

For financial year ended 31 December 2021

The figure of 5% of overall sales going to retailer commission accurately reflects the requirements of the licence to pay a 6% commission to retailers and the level of retail sales in 2021.

Clause 4.7 of the Licence to operate the National Lottery provides that the Operator must pay retailers a percentage commission of 6% for all National Lottery Games (except Lotto 5-4-3-2-1 for which the rate must be 5%). Where a ticket for a National Lottery game is sold online, there is no commission to be paid as the operator is the retailer. The 2021 audited accounts of the operator of the National Lottery report that 16.6% of National Lottery sales were online in 2021 and 84.4% were in retail. That is, around five sixths of National Lottery sales, by value, came through retail agents and resulted in commission to retailers – i.e. total retail commission represented 5% of total sales in 2021.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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186. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total amount of spending by the National Lottery on advertising in each of the past twelve months to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44697/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The total amount of spending by the Operator of the National Lottery on advertising per annum is the confidential and commercially sensitive information of the Operator, within the meaning of Clause 20.6 of the Licence to operate the National Lottery, and therefore is not provided to me, the Minister, and cannot be disclosed by the Regulator to the Minister without the Operator’s consent. The Regulator asked the Operator if it wished to consent to this information being released and no consent was given.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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187. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which the running costs of the National Lottery remain at 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44698/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The following material has been submitted to me by the Regulator of the National Lottery for use in answering this question.

The 90% and 10% figures used in the National Lottery advertisement are taken from the most recent audited accounts of the Operator – 2021 – (to be laid before the Oireachtas shortly). These are the most recent figures available.

When one looks back over the years since the License commenced, one finds that the sum of the shares of sales going to prizes, good causes and retailer commission is around 90% in each year of the operation of the National Lottery (varying between 89% and 91%).

For example, the 2021 audited accounts also show the corresponding figures for 2020 of 58% going to prizes and 28% going to good causes. Adding retailer commission of 5% yields and a total of 91% and thus 9% remaining for the Operator.

The 2021 Annual Report of the Regulator of the National Lottery (also to be laid before the Oireachtas shortly) provides the percentage of sales going to Prizes and the amount generated for Good Causes for every year of operation since the current Licence commenced. As the extracted table below shows, the individual percentages of sales vary slightly from year to year but these variations are marginal. Ultimately, the sum of the percentages going to prizes, good causes and retailer commissions comes to circa 90% in each year of operation.

Table

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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188. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which safety factors are built into the National Lottery to discourage addiction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44699/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Office of the Regulator of the National Lottery has confirmed:

There are numerous safety factors built into the National Lottery to discourage addiction.

1. The National Lottery gaming system only sells tickets between the hours of 7am to 11pm.

2. The types of games that the National Lottery may sell are strictly limited.

3. Every new game or change to an existing game must be pre-approved by the Regulator.

4. Each new game or change to an existing game is considered by the Regulator with regard to the risk of addiction or problem-play.

5. Retailers and the operator’s customer service staff are trained in the warning signs of addiction and problem-play.

6. Rules to ensure that the advertising and promotion of the National Lottery is appropriate for the nature of the product are in place and enforced by the Regulator.

7. Direct marketing and upselling are prohibited except where a player has opted in to receiving marketing messages or the Regulator approves of a direct marketing campaign (which has not been the case to date).

8. The National Lottery websites and tickets provide links to information on problem gambling and relevant resources.

In retail specifically:

9. Mystery shop exercises are regularly conducted to ensure that retailers are complying with the requirement not to sell a ticket to a person under 18 years of age and the Think 21 requirement to ask for proof of age. (Minors are at greater risk of developing addiction.)

10. There is a limit on the number of scratch cards a player can purchase in a transaction.

Online specifically:

11. There are limits on the amount of money a player can spend online on any day, week or month.

12. Prizes over €100 are sent directly to the player and not paid into their online wallet, to discourage players from reinvesting winnings.

13. To open an online account and purchase a National Lottery ticket you must supply a photo of an identity document that proves you are at least 18 years old.

14. The online channel offers a self-exclusion facility to those who require assistance with limiting their National Lottery play.

15. Credit cards are no longer accepted for online play.