Gráinne Seoige to present awards ceremony for fifth consecutive year

The National Lottery has unveiled five brand new installations in St. Stephens Green, Dublin, which showcases a selection of inspiring Good Causes from all around the country.

The National Lottery Good Causes Exhibition is visible in the park until 29^th of April and aims to shine a light on the great people behind our Good Causes, by highlighting some remarkable workers, volunteers, and service users who drive positive change within our communities, supported by National Lottery funding.

Michael Joe Cox has been a service user of a National Lottery Good Cause, Irish Red Cross Clare and spoke of the impact the charity has had on his life: “I’ve been availing of the services provided by Irish Red Cross Clare for the past five years and I can safely say they’ve changed my life. Whether it’s taking me to a hospital appointment or helping me get some shopping, it gives me great peace of mind to know they’re always there when I need them. I’ve built a great relationship with the volunteers, who are always at the other end of the phone. It’s an imperative service for someone like me in a wheelchair”, he said.

The National Lottery has also officially extended their application deadline by a week for this year’s Good Causes Awards from Thursday 4^th of April to Friday 12^th of April. Local or national, large or small, the awards will honour the inspiring work of thousands of projects, clubs and individuals from all over Ireland who, with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding, have had an extraordinary impact on their communities. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, 12^th of October 2024 in Kilashee House Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare.

The National Lottery Good Causes Awards is delighted to announce that Grainne Seoige will present the awards ceremony for her fifth consecutive year. The gala event will also welcome a host of very special and famous faces presenting awards to our finalists on the night.

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The National Lottery has launch this year’s National Lottery Good Causes Awards, which honours the inspiring work and achievements of projects, clubs and individuals all over Ireland, who, with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding, have had an extraordinary impact on their local communities.

The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, 12^th of October in Killashee House Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare.

National Lottery CEO Andrew Algeo was the first to take to the podium to welcome the Good Causes Awards into its sixth year: “This is the sixth year of the National Lottery Good Causes Awards, and again, we are reminded of the extraordinary positive impact that the people who drive Ireland’s Good Causes have in shaping a brighter and more inclusive future for all.  Everyone who is associated with the National Lottery can feel proud that the funding from ticket sales supports the success stories that are the Good Causes.  Since 1987, over €6 Billion has been raised by National Lottery players for Good Causes and €4 Million is raised each week. We look forward to working closely with Good Causes and Minister Donohoe’s department over the next couple of months to ensure Good Causes funding is as transparent as it can be”.

Minister Paschal Donohoe, a strong advocate of the Awards, commended the work being carried out by Good Causes in communities all over the country: “I am delighted to be here at the launch of this year’s Good Causes Awards and to celebrate the incredible impact that National Lottery funding has on communities across our nation. It has been wonderful to meet with and hear first-hand how National Lottery funding supports organisations such as Meath Women’s Refuge and Support Services and the Homeless Street Leagues, who through the power of Sport are doing life-changing work for those who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness. This year, my department is focused on progressing with initiatives that will strengthen and acknowledge the positive impact of National Lottery contributions in communities nationwide.”

Sinead Smith, CEO of Meath Women’s Refuge and Support Services spoke about winning the overall Good Cause of the Year award 2023 and how they utilised their €35,000 prize last year.

“Thanks to the award funding, we’re making a meaningful impact in the lives of women affected by domestic violence. Investing in professional counseling with €24,000 ensures 400 hours of essential support, empowering 65 women on their path to recovery. Additionally, allocating €11,000 towards staff support, wellbeing, and training underscores our commitment to maintaining high-quality services and adapting to evolving challenges, reinforcing our dedication to women and children’s rights.”

Individuals, community projects and organisations who received Good Causes funding between the years 2019 and 2023 are eligible to apply. Applications for the Awards are now open and beneficiaries can enter and check eligibility at www.lottery.ie/goodcausesawards.

The Awards will have seven categories which are:

• Sport. Winning through inclusion.
• Health and Wellbeing. Promoting healthier & happier communities.
• Arts & Culture. Celebrating Irish creativity.
• Heritage. Protect, preserve and promote.
• Community. Enriching the fabric of Irish life.
• Youth. Nurturing Ireland’s Next Generation.
• Irish Language. Cothú grá na cainte

A special category, ‘Hero of the Year’, will also be announced at the Awards final, in recognition of outstanding work done by an individual within an organisation and will receive a prize of €5,000.

Each category winner will receive €10,000 while the overall Good Cause of the Year will receive an additional €25,000.

Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage, and the Irish Language. In total more than €6 Billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 36 years ago. In 2022 alone, €259.5 Million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.

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Company urges remaining retailers to act now to avoid missing December deadline 

Allwyn, incoming operator of The National Lottery, today urged any independent retailers who have not yet completed their Transfer of Retailer Agreement (TRA) from Camelot to Allwyn to do so as soon as possible by logging on at TNLpartners.co.uk. The deadline to complete this is by 18 December 2023 at the very latest.

Allwyn’s Operations Director, Jenny Blogg, commented: “With just under eight weeks to go until the TRA deadline, we’re delighted to report that over 75% of all independent retailers have now logged on and completed this. This is testament to the great co-operation and support we’ve seen from our retail partners, working hand in hand with our joint Allwyn and Camelot Retail team.

“However, we’re now working to reach those remaining retailers who have not yet signed – as we would hate for them to miss out on the exciting plans we have lined up from February onwards. We’re really grateful to National Lottery retailers for prioritising this – and for all they continue to do in selling National Lottery tickets in their stores and helping to raise over £30 million a week for Good Causes across the UK.”

All independent retailers will have received communications outlining what they need to do to complete the TRA, including:

• Registering their store and creating an account to start the process
• Confirming their personal details (they’ll need the last three digits of the bank account used to pay their current National Lottery invoices, as well as proof of identity)
• Reading and signing their Transfer of Retailer Agreement

Retailers can access the portal via TNLpartners.co.uk or by scanning a QR code featured on the communications they’ve been sent, and it’s worth noting that this process can only be completed by the store owner.

In addition to the wider independent estate, Allwyn and Camelot have also been communicating with independent Post Offices to enable them to continue as National Lottery retailers in the Fourth Licence. The majority of these Post Offices will move across in February. For those that need further support, Allwyn is in the process of contacting all of them individually to explain the next steps.

Following the 18 December Agreement transfer deadline, retailers will receive a ‘Welcome to Allwyn’ pack early in the New Year, which will contain more information on what they can expect from 1 February – including initial details of new and improved National Lottery games from March 2024 onwards. Retailers will also receive information about the training they will need to complete digitally ahead of the changeover.

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PLI was also directed by the regulator, using its statutory enforcement powers, to take actions to comply with its obligations under its licence.

The action marked the first occasion that payments were withheld from the operator due to a breach of its obligations.

The issue involved 126 permanently accounts where the owners have self-excluded themselves.

These accounts were deleted in error by PLI in October of 2021, through an algorithm designed to automatically delete closed accounts after two years to comply with data protection rules.

This was despite the operator voluntarily introducing a new permanent self-exclusion option for players in 2019, designed to prevent problem gambling.

The regulator found that the deleted accounts should have been maintained by the operator as permanently closed so that their owners could not open new ones.

Its investigation found that as a result of the error, 16 players had opened a new account and ten had bought tickets through their new accounts, totalling €3,292.

Four of the players had marketing emails sent to them from the operator.

Enhanced controls have since been put in place to identify and stop any player who has self-excluded themself from opening a new account.

The regulator also has the power to allow it to ask the High Court to fine the operator for any future non-compliance.

“The effect of the finding of a breach by the Operator in respect of self-excluded players has been to further tighten controls that detect and prevent such players from opening another account,” the Regulator of the National Lottery, Carol Boate, said.

“The creation of a new potential sanction before the High Court lays down a marker that says there can be no further breach by the Operator of its obligations to players who choose to self-exclude,” she said.

“The Regulator is committed to building on these protective measures so that players and the integrity of the National Lottery continue to be safeguarded in the public interest,” she added.

Details of the breach are contained in the regulator’s annual report published today, which also highlights the introduction of further controls to the National Lottery’s online channel last year through new mandatory age and identity verification checks of all online players.

According to the regulator, these controls led to added friction during the account set-up process, contributing to lost sales.

The good news is that physical lottery sales are increasing, with online sales rescinding. This obviously benefits retailers – as no commission needs to be paid on online sales.

The report also details how online sales last year did not grow overall relative to retails sales for the first time ever.

This was because players resumed buying tickets in retail outlets in larger numbers than they did during the pandemic, when movement was restricted, and online channels were used instead.

National Lottery sales and returns to good causes also fell during the year, for the first time since the licence was awarded in 2014.

However, returns to good causes still exceeded 2019 pre-pandemic levels, coming in at €259.5m last year, compared to €251.6m three years ago.

There was a 16% decrease in sales of National Lottery Products in 2022 compared to the previous year, with sales falling to €884.1m. In 2019, sales were €884.5m.

The regular said a decrease had been expected because there had been unprecedented Lotto jackpot rollovers which drove sales high than normal in 2021.

Inflation last year is also thought to have impacted sales.

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