A newsagents' representative body has said many retailers have been mistakenly paying out double lottery winnings since Thursday because of confusion over a change in the National Lottery's computer software.
Since new software was introduced on Thursday, lottery machines have been issuing duplicate payout slips - one for the retailer and one for the winner - for small wins. Previously, only one payout slip - for the retailer's records - was printed.
According to Vincent Jennings, chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents' Association, however, shop-owners were not told of the change in advance, and as a result many have mistakenly presumed that the duplicate payout slips were entirely separate and required a second payout.
"We've been taking calls from newsagents to say that, when they went to do a reconciliation, they found they were paying out on the double," he said. Mr Jennings estimated that €10,000 to €15,000 may have been mistakenly paid out. "It's money that could have been saved if they [ the National Lottery] had bought a few 48 cent stamps.
"We're delighted to see the duplicates coming [ because] it was always open to challenge, but it would have been nice if they had told us in advance that there would be a duplicate copy."
A spokeswoman for the National Lottery said the decision to have machines issue a second slip for customers was taken following requests from the public that a paper record be given to winning players.
"There isn't any reason why any agent should have paid twice," she said.
The National Lottery has issued letters to all retailers informing them of the changes, but those who have encountered difficulties are advised to contact the organisation's hotline.