Lotteries in Ireland, Australia Have Winners Welcoming 2023 as Multimillionaires

Posted on: January 5, 2023, 07:28h. 

Last updated on: January 5, 2023, 11:01h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

The new year is starting off on the right foot for a couple of lottery players. Someone in Ireland just bagged the first Lotto jackpot of the year, while halfway around the world in Australia, another lottery player hit the big time with a major Oz Lotto win.

Irish National Lottery headquarters
The logo of the Irish National Lottery outside the Irish National Lottery headquarters. Ireland has already produced one multimillion-dollar lottery winner as the new year begins. (Image: Shutterstock)

In both cases, there was only a single ticket that matched all of the right numbers for the top prize. As a result, each winner claimed an eight-figure prize, although there were plenty of winners that took home significant amounts of cash as well.

In Ireland’s Lotto draw on Wednesday night, the winner has yet to come forward. However, in the land down under, the winner’s celebration could apparently be heard across South Australia.

Irish Lotto Already Awarding Millions

On January 1, a lottery player in Cork, Ireland, hit the lottery for €1 million (US$1.06 million) in the Millionaire Raffle. Another five tickets – three in Dublin and one each in Carlow and Kilkenny – were good for €100,000 (US$112,520) in the first draw of the year.

Those were only a prelude to what was to come. On Wednesday night, the Lotto draw found a single ticket that correctly matched all six numbers and the bonus number.

As a result, the jackpot of €11.1 million (US$11.78 million) will soon make its way into the bank account or hot hands of someone in Ireland. The National Lottery announced that someone in Limerick bought the winning ticket.

Almost all of the money that was up for grabs went to the jackpot winner. The National Lottery reported that 14 people matched five numbers for €1,962 (US$2,082). But no one hit the Match 5 and its bonus. That would have been worth €147,997 (US$157,098).

This is the first time since last October that the Lotto produced a jackpot winner. On October 15, one ticket had the entire sequence correct for €2 million (US$2.12 million). Three days earlier, someone hit the €2.31-million (US$2.45 million) jackpot.

The winner of Wednesday night’s draw has three months to come forward or risk losing their prize. Because lottery winnings in Ireland are tax-free, that person can count on receiving the entire amount.

Oz Lotto Lands First Multimillionaire of 2023

“Screaming and crying” is how an Oz Lotto winner in Australia described his reaction when he realized what had just happened. On January 3, the Oz Lotto draw produced its first mega-winner of the year after the man’s ticket was the only one to correctly match all the right numbers.

That tiny slip of paper is worth a large fortune. The Lotto draw on Tuesday was worth AUD20 million (US$13.63 million), which explains why the unidentified winner was so happy.

The Daily Mail reported that he already has begun to create a plan for his new wealth, part of which includes purchasing his first home. That was already in the works, but would have required a mortgage from the bank. With his sudden windfall, he can now buy it outright.

It’s a huge windfall as well, since Australia, like Ireland, doesn’t charge taxes on official lottery winnings.