Bumper lotto jackpot on offer this weekend

A single winner of Saturday’s (September 18) Lotto jackpot could become Ireland’s third largest jackpot winner in the history of the Lotto game as the coveted prize heads for a truly life-changing €16.5 million (est).

The current Lotto jackpot has been rolling since Wednesday 9th June and due to the high level of public interest, the National Lottery has advised players to purchase their tickets early in store, online at www.lottery.ie or through the National Lottery App before the cut off on 7.45pm on Saturday evening.

So far this year, there have been five Lotto jackpot wins by players in Limerick, Kilkenny, Westmeath, Cork and Galway.

A National Lottery spokesperson said: “This has been an extraordinary jackpot roll which now sees the Lotto jackpot heading for a bank-busting €16.5 million which could become the 3rd highest prize ever to be offered in the game’s history. At these jackpot levels, we are already seeing a notable increase in play so we are encouraging all of our players where possible, to avoid queues by buying their tickets early."

The current Lotto jackpot has been on an unprecedented roll without a winner since June and is now edging very close to reaching the current jackpot cap. The Lotto jackpot is currently capped at €18.96 million and this represents the record breaking Lotto jackpot win by the Dan Morrissey syndicate in Carlow in June 2008.

A National Lottery spokesperson explained what happens if the Lotto jackpot reaches the historic jackpot cap: “Once the jackpot exceeds the cap, no more money will be added to the jackpot prize until it is won. The funds that would normally go to the jackpot will be distributed to the next lower prize tier as which there are winners. If the jackpot is won at an amount higher than €18.96 million, that amount will become the game’s new jackpot cap.”