The Irish Lotto was launched in 1986 to replace another numbers game in the form of the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes. Thanks to the explosion in usage of the World Wide Web, Irish Lotto Tickets are now for sale online all over the world.

The Irish Lotto was created to fund good causes in Ireland. It's original format which involved a large draw taking place once a week has now grown to include multiple daily and weekly jackpots, scratches, and involvement with the Irish branch of the Euromillions Lottery. Irish Lotto Tickets are purchased for draws which take place every week on both Wednesday and Saturday evenings. A percentage of ticket sales will go back into the prize kitty, and then the rest of it will be put towards good causes including sporting resources, health and welfare, Irish Heritage and arts, and also recreational facilities.

Players can fill out their own Irish Lotto Tickets by choosing six numbers from one to forty five, or a quick pick option is also available where their numbers are automatically generated for them. In the lottery itself, seven numbers are drawn. This means that six main numbers and then one bonus will be drawn. If the player chooses all six main numbers in one game, they can win the jackpot prize.

After the top prize category, there follows a number of divisions to distribute prizes. These include different combinations of the main numbers and the extra bonus number. The second prize division will be awarded to the person who can match five of the main numbers and then the bonus number as well. A minimum payment of a set amount will be awarded to the holder of a winning ticket in either of these prize categories, no matter how many tickets have been sold for that draw. A rollover jackpot will also generate higher payouts if no one wins the big prize that week.

Five of the six main numbers with no bonus number will get you a third division prize, and a fourth division prize is won by matching four main numbers plus the bonus number. Fifth division is secured with four of the main numbers. Matching three of the main numbers and the bonus number will get you a sixth division prize. Three main numbers only will enable you to receive a prize in the seventh division.

When a prize is won in any of these divisions apart from the first and second, it will be paid out as a percentage of the money raised through ticket sales. All prizes will be paid out in one lump sum. A winning ticket in the seventh division will see you getting five Euros non dependant on ticket sales, if you have matched three of the main numbers.

Irish Lotto Ticket scams, unrelated to the Irish Lotto authorities themselves, have also become increasingly numerous due to the expansion in internet sales of Irish Lotto Tickets. Some of these are quite sophisticated, others not so. The basis of all these scams involves sending out an email that says you have won some massive jackpot and have to pay some kind of fee in order for this prize to be sent out to you. Scam emails can be quite convincing at first glance, where you just see this fictional dollar amount you have won by buying Irish Lotto Tickets in your sleep.