Call for Lotto to Be Moved to After 9pm Watershed Over Gambling Concerns

Researchers and gambling control experts have renewed calls to move the National Lottery draw to after the 9pm watershed on television, citing concerns that current scheduling exposes underage children to gambling advertising. The push comes after analysis of over 200 Lotto draws between 2023 and 2024 revealed that nearly all were broadcast before the watershed, often during or immediately after programming aimed at children aged 12 or below.

Dr Frank Houghton, Principal Investigator of the Tobacco, Alcohol and Gambling Research Group at the Technological University of the Shannon, stated that the National Lottery’s exclusion from the Gambling Act’s advertising restrictions is “very strange.” He emphasized that lottery participation constitutes gambling and should be subject to the same protections as other forms of betting, particularly to prevent normalization among young viewers.

The research team found that draws frequently interrupted family-oriented programming, including Saturday night movies on RTÉ, which are typically targeted at younger audiences. In some instances, broadcasts were paused to air the Lotto draw, a practice critics argue breaches Section 6 of the National Lottery Advertising and Promotion Code of Practice.

Co-author Prof. Anne Campbell from Queen’s University of Belfast reinforced the importance of the 9pm watershed, stating it exists for a reason: to shield children from harmful content. She noted that even the National Lottery’s own regulator has acknowledged risks associated with underage exposure to gambling marketing, which correlates with higher likelihood of problem gambling in adulthood.

Whereas the National Lottery announced in March 2026 that the Lotto draw would be moved to a new timeslot just before the ‘RTÉ Nine O’Clock News’ on Wednesdays and Saturdays, researchers contend this change does not go far enough, as the draw still airs before 9pm. Advocates insist the only effective solution is to schedule the draw after the watershed to fully comply with child safeguarding obligations.

The debate echoes broader regulatory efforts in the UK and Ireland to restrict gambling advertising before the 9pm watershed, including voluntary bans during live sports and legislative proposals to establish a dedicated gambling regulator. As of April 2026, no binding rule prohibits National Lottery advertising before the watershed, leaving the issue to ongoing public and academic scrutiny.