The Lotto jackpot going unclaimed for almost six months is "such an unusual event" with the game "not designed to go on this long", the National Lottery has said.
However, the organisation added that 180 winners nationwide have shared €13.5 million in “boosted prize funds” due to the jackpot prize rolldown.
The jackpot has not been won since June 9th, resulting in the highest jackpot in the history of the game – more than €19 million.
“The current jackpot rollover of 23 weeks and capped jackpot of €19 million is unprecedented,” a spokesman for the National Lottery said.
“Because of the cap, the flow down of prizes gives more players the opportunity to win even bigger prizes at lower prize tiers.”
He added: "For example, in last Saturday's draw, one winner in Fermoy in Co Cork won the Match 5 + Bonus category to win a boosted prize fund worth €996,216."
The National Lottery said the Lotto is a game of chance, which has no memory of when it was last won.
Asked if something can be done to ensure the jackpot is won, the spokesman said the game rules do not allow for a must-be-won event “at the moment”.
“It’s something that we are looking at but because of the game rules, because we are regulated, there isn’t anything we can do at the moment but it is something we are looking at,” he added.
In 2020, there were 1.3 million weekly players of National Lottery games.
The lottery said it saw an increase in digital sales across all demographics last year, largely as a result of the pandemic-response measures.
The increase was particularly seen in the over 50s, it added.
Over the course of 2020, 441,735 players transacted online, up 42 per cent from 311,684 in 2019.
There were also 1.3 million app downloads, with the mobile app accounting for about 59 per cent of digital sales.
Vincent Jennings, chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents' Association (CSNA), said lottery ticket sales had been relatively stable in recent weeks, despite the large jackpot.
“There are significant variations between Wednesday takes and Saturday takes. Saturday is a busier day, but it’s pretty steady overall. It’s a footfall generator. It’s a reason for people coming into shops,” he said.
“It is a little more generational now than it was when it first came out. I’m not so sure younger people are as wedded to the lottery as the older grouping were, but they could be picked up in syndicates in work.”
Tara Buckley, director general of the Retail Grocery Dairy & Allied Trades Association (RGDATA) said in-store lottery sales have been "very good" over the past number of weeks.
“Irish people continue to vote with their feet and the vast majority of lottery sales continue to be carried out in store,” she said.
“People like the tradition of buying their Lotto in their local shop.”
