New Lottery Licence To Last 20 Years

Details

April 4th, 2012

Changes to how the next national lottery licence is awarded have been agreed in principle by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Minister Brendan Howlin said the approach for the tender will see the licence lasting for 20 years and will involve an upfront payment.

There will be a competitive process for the awarding of the licence while a fixed percentage of the lottery turnover will be used for good causes. 

The present lottery licence was issued by the Finance Minister in 2001 to An Post National Lottery Company after a formal tendering process. 

Last November, the Government decided to extend the term of the An Post licence to the end of June 2013 to allow time to put in place an appropriate competitive process for the new licence.

It is envisaged that a portion of the upfront payment will be used to help fund the new national children's hospital.

Minister Howlin confirmed that legislative changes will be needed to deal with future regulations and to address issues around online sales. Work is starting on this issue, he added.

''The Government needs to be innovative and creative where opportunities arise to generate additional resources for the state,'' commented Minister Brendan Howlin.

''The awarding of this licence for a longer duration presents a real opportunity for the state to generate fund that will benefit the community and provide essential services through providing significant funds towards the construction of the national children's hospital,' he added.

• < Prev
• Next >