RTÉ lotto error could prove costly

A “technical error” on Saturday night’s Lotto broadcast on RTÉ television could potentially cost someone nearly €5 million.

While the draw was carried out correctly the numbers displayed at the end of the programme were wrong for the main Lotto jackpot of €4.8 million and Lotto Plus 2 draws so any winner who just caught the last seconds of the programme would have been left with the impression their ticket was a dud.

The error was spotted almost immediately and corrected within the hour. A corrected graphic was broadcast just before the nine o’clock news.

A continuity announcer also addressed the issue and said: “On this evening’s live Lotto draw, the closing graphic displayed the Lotto and Lotto Plus 2 numbers incorrectly”.

Two subsequent broadcasts, containing an apology and the correct numbers were made before midnight.

RTÉ blamed a “technical error in the studio” and said an investigation was underway.

The National Lottery has expressed concern the mistake could potentially interfere with the competition and someone claiming what would be a life-changing prize but believes the incorrect figures were available for such as short period of time that they were unlikely to cause someone to discard a winning ticket.

The winning ticket for the main jackpot was sold in a Centra in Newport, Co Tipperary but the winner has yet to come forward. They have 90 days from last Saturday to claim their prize.

A spokeswoman for the National Lottery said while she accepted “these things do happen” there was concern that "anything would interfere with someone claiming a prize".

“We would like to know what happened and would like to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” she said

She stressed the draw had been carried out correctly and said there were multiple ways in which people could check their numbers.

"The end frame is up and down. It is very quick and there are so many other ways to check the winning numbers."