Lottery operator Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) breached the terms of its licence once during 2021 by contacting a group of players who had excluded themselves from its games, the Office of the Regulator of the National Lottery said on Wednesday as it published its annual report.
The regulator, Carol Boate, said the breach had occurred as a result of a time lag in the operator’s systems that meant marketing communications were sent in error to 48 players who had self-excluded themselves from playing National Lottery games up to 36 hours earlier.
It was established that none of the 48 players was able to play games during the period of self-exclusion as the suspension of play had taken immediate effect. PLI subsequently introduced measures to ensure the cessation of marketing messages following self-exclusion would take effect in real time.
Ms Boate said no further action was required.
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The regulator said it was a key goal to ensure that players of National Lottery games experienced “informed consumer interactions” that minimise the risk of harm from problem playing and underage playing.
Additional measures to prevent problem and underage play were introduced last year to bolster measures already in place.
The regulator said proactive reviews conducted by her office in 2021 yielded confirmation that the operator was taking the appropriate steps to prevent cyberattacks and that published game rules for online instant-win games correctly match the approved rules.
Mandatory online identity verification, introduced for newly registered accounts from December 6th last year, is being applied to previously registered accounts on a phased basis, it said.
During 2021, the regulator also reviewed how the odds of winning a prize are communicated on scratch cards. The regulator proposed that PLI include the odds of winning the top prize on every scratch card and on every landing page of games on its website, so players have immediate sight of this information. The operator agreed to make the updates.
“I am confident that the oversight, monitoring and enforcement carried out in 2021 will further protect and safeguard players, and the propriety of the National Lottery. This remains my paramount focus in the period ahead,” Ms Boate said.
As previously published in PLI’s accounts for 2021, ticket sales for National Lottery games surpassed €1 billion in 2021, rising 14.7 per cent to €1.053 billion, with both online sales and retail sales growing.
The regulator confirmed that a record €289.7 million was transferred to the exchequer for good causes in 2021, up 14 per cent on the 2020 figure. Some of the change was attributable to sales generated by the capped €19.1 million Lotto jackpot that continued to rollover for an unprecedented number of draws. The rules were then changed to ensure a “will be won draw” will take place if the jackpot is not won five draws after it reaches the cap.
PLI is owned by a consortium that comprises An Post, its pension fund and Canada’s Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. It was awarded a 20-year licence to operate the National Lottery in 2014.
