Irish Lotto and Daily Million: rules, draw times and odds after the 2026 changes

The Irish Lotto changed in September 2026. Since 3 September 2026 you pick 6 numbers from 1 to 45 instead of 1 to 47, and since 7 September 2026 there is a third weekly draw, on Monday, alongside Wednesday and Saturday. A line still costs €2 with a two-line minimum (€4), and the jackpot odds improved from 1 in 10,737,573 to 1 in 8,145,060 per line.

Ireland's other big draw game, Daily Million, did not change: 6 numbers from 1 to 39, two draws every day at 2pm and 9pm, €1 a panel and a fixed €1 million top prize. Both games are run by Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC, which operates Ireland's National Lottery under a licence that runs until 2034. This guide covers how each game works now, what the odds really are, and how Irish Lotto compares with the UK Lotto.

What changed in the Irish Lotto in September 2026

Two changes arrived within a week of each other, announced by the National Lottery in its "Change is coming" press release:

You may still see "1 to 47" on some pages, including the short description of lottery.ie's own Lotto page. That text is out of date: the 2026 How to Play book and the press release both state 1–45.

What the 45-ball pool does to your odds

The jackpot odds are simply the number of possible lines:

• Old game: C(47, 6) = 10,737,573
• New game: C(45, 6) = (45 × 44 × 43 × 42 × 41 × 40) ÷ 720 = 5,864,443,200 ÷ 720 = 8,145,060

10,737,573 ÷ 8,145,060 ≈ 1.32, so each line is now about 32% more likely to win the jackpot. The Monday draw adds a third chance a week at those odds, and a third bill too if you play every draw.

How to play Irish Lotto now

1. Choose 6 numbers from 1 to 45 on each line, or ask for a quick pick.
2. Play at least two lines. Each line costs €2, so the minimum is €4 (as of October 2026).
3. Decide on Lotto Plus. It adds €1 per line; two lines with Plus cost €6.
4. Pick your draws: Monday, Wednesday or Saturday. Sales close at 7:45pm, and the draw is livestreamed at 7:55pm.
5. Check your numbers after the draw on the Irish Lotto results page or at lottery.ie, then claim any prize from the National Lottery.

Winning combinations and their odds

Six main numbers and a bonus number are drawn. There are 8 prize tiers. We calculated the odds of each from the 6/45 matrix; added up, they reproduce the operator's overall figure of 1 in 25.4.

The bottom tiers are 3 numbers and 2 numbers plus the bonus. Prize amounts per tier vary by draw; the latest are in the prize breakdown on the results page.

The jackpot

The Irish Lotto jackpot starts at a minimum of €2 million and rolls over to the next draw if nobody matches all six numbers. We found no jackpot cap or "must be won" rule in the 2026 materials. The current jackpot is €2,400,000, for the draw on Oct 14, 2026.

Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2

Lotto Plus enters your same lines into two extra draws, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2, for €1 more per line. Each Plus draw has a fixed €1 million top prize that does not roll over. With Plus, the operator gives the odds of winning any prize as 1 in 8.5, against 1 in 25.4 for Lotto alone.

Example: checking a two-line entry

You play two lines for €4 (or €6 with Lotto Plus):

• Line A: 3, 9, 17, 24, 38, 44
• Line B: 1, 12, 20, 29, 30, 41

The draw is 9, 12, 17, 30, 38, 42, bonus 20.

• Line A matches 9, 17 and 38: 3 numbers, a winning tier.
• Line B matches 12 and 30, plus the bonus 20: 2 + bonus, also a winning tier.
• With Lotto Plus, both lines are checked again against the Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 draws.

How the Daily Million works

Daily Million is a separate National Lottery game built around a fixed €1 million top prize and two draws every day, at 14:00 and 21:00, including Sundays.

The top-prize odds come from C(39, 6) = 3,262,623, so a Daily Million panel is about 2.5 times as likely to win its top prize as an Irish Lotto line is to win the jackpot. The trade-off: Daily Million's €1 million is shared between winners and never grows, while the Lotto jackpot starts at €2 million and keeps rolling. The latest Daily Million draw was Oct 12, 2026 (main numbers 7, 9, 11, 21, 23, 28); every draw is on the Daily Million results page.

Daily Million Plus costs €0.50 extra per panel. It puts your numbers into a separate draw with a €500,000 top prize, and it doubles your chance of winning something: the odds go from 1 in 28 to 1 in 14.

Which Irish lotto game has the best odds?

• Best jackpot odds: Daily Million, 1 in 3,262,623 for €1 million.
• Best chance of any prize: Irish Lotto with Lotto Plus, 1 in 8.5.
• Biggest prize: Irish Lotto's rolling jackpot (minimum €2 million), or EuroMillions, which Ireland's National Lottery also sells at €2.50 a panel, with far longer jackpot odds of 1 in 139,838,160. See our EuroMillions rules guide.
• Smallest stake: Daily Million at €1 a panel; Irish Lotto needs at least €4.

Keep the weekly total in mind. Daily Million has 14 draws a week and Lotto now has 3, so frequent play adds up quickly.

Irish Lotto vs UK Lotto

The UK Lotto, run by Allwyn Entertainment Ltd for the UK National Lottery, is a different game with a much bigger pool:

Each UK draw round has more than five times as many possible lines as an Irish Lotto draw. The UK's new format plays every line in two rounds per draw; we haven't seen an official per-line jackpot figure for that format, so we don't quote one. On jackpot odds per round, Irish Lotto is clearly the easier game. The UK game guarantees its jackpot is eventually paid out: after five rollovers the next draw is "Must Be Won", with the money rolling down to lower tiers if nobody hits it. Our guide on how the UK Lotto works has the details.

What LottaGo's statistics can and can't tell you

LottaGo counts Irish Lotto frequencies only from draws under the current 1–45 rules, because draws from the 47-ball game used a different pool. Since Sep 5, 2026, 16 draws have been recorded, and the most drawn numbers so far are 15, 24, 14, 20, 26, and 3. With so few draws, those leaders will change often. See the full Irish Lotto statistics since the 1–45 change.

Daily Million builds history much faster: 3,526 draws since Dec 13, 2021, with 11, 7, 5, 12, 25, and 29 drawn most often.

Neither list predicts anything. Each draw is independent, and the AI Agent's walk-forward backtest shows that lines built from hot, overdue or frequently paired numbers match about as often as random picks. The hot and cold numbers guide explains why.

Buying Irish Lotto and Daily Million through LottaGo

Both games are marked "on sale" on LottaGo. The "Buy ticket" button leads to LottaGo's official partner, which buys the real ticket and pays out any prize. LottaGo earns a commission on those sales; it does not sell tickets or pay prizes itself, and the commission has no effect on statistics or AI Agent lines. The partner does not accept players from some countries, including the United Kingdom.

FAQ

What changed in the Irish Lotto in September 2026?

Two things. From 3 September 2026 the number pool shrank from 47 to 45, so players now pick 6 numbers from 1 to 45. From 7 September 2026 a Monday draw was added, so Irish Lotto is now drawn on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The jackpot odds improved from 1 in 10,737,573 to 1 in 8,145,060.

How many numbers are in the Irish Lotto now?

There are 45 numbers. You choose 6 from 1 to 45, and the draw produces 6 main numbers and 1 bonus number. Pages that still say 1 to 47 describe the game before 3 September 2026.

What nights is the Irish Lotto drawn?

Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The draw is livestreamed at 7:55pm Irish time, and ticket sales close at 7:45pm. The Monday draw started on 7 September 2026; before that, Lotto was drawn on Wednesdays and Saturdays only.

How much is the Irish Lotto with Plus?

Two lines with Lotto Plus cost €6: €2 per line for Lotto, plus €1 per line for Lotto Plus. Without Plus, the minimum two-line entry is €4. These prices come from the National Lottery's 2026 How to Play book (checked October 2026).

How does the Daily Million work?

You pick 6 numbers from 1 to 39 for €1 a panel. Two draws take place every day, at 2pm and 9pm. Matching all 6 main numbers wins a fixed €1 million, shared if there are several winners; it never rolls over. Matching 3 numbers wins €3. Daily Million Plus adds a second draw with a €500,000 top prize for €0.50 more.

Which Irish lotto has the best odds?

For a seven-figure prize, Daily Million: 1 in 3,262,623 for €1 million. For winning anything at all, Irish Lotto with Lotto Plus: 1 in 8.5. The Irish Lotto jackpot itself is 1 in 8,145,060 per line.

Is the Irish Lotto better than the UK Lotto?

On odds, yes: each Irish Lotto draw has 8,145,060 possible lines against 45,057,474 per round in the UK's 6-from-59 game. The UK Lotto, in return, plays each line in two rounds per draw and forces the jackpot to be won after five rollovers. Which is "better" depends on whether you value odds or a guaranteed pay-out of the jackpot.

Ireland's National Lottery games are for adults only (18+); decide your budget before you play.