News
from The National Lottery®
November 11th, 2014
NATIONAL LOTTERY CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF
CHANGING LIVES IN NORTHERN IRELAND
81 millionaires created and £1 billion invested in NI projects since 1994
AS the National Lottery celebrates 20 years of changing lives next week, new figures
published today reveal that a whopping 81 millionaires have been created in Northern
Ireland alone since the first Lottery draw on Saturday November 19, 1994.
In total, the past two decades have seen 647 ‘high tier’ winners from Northern Ireland
scoop life-changing prizes of £50,000 or more – most recently 16 year old Callum
Fitzpatrick from Newry who only last month celebrated his massive £390k win with a glass
of orange juice.
However, the best news for local Lottery players is that Northern Ireland is currently in its
luckiest phase of the Lottery’s 20 year history with mathematicians revealing that 34 of our
81 millionaires have been created in the past four years.
Since 2011 a millionaire has been created, on average, in Northern Ireland EVERY 41
DAYS*.
And we are getting luckier! Since March last year someone from Northern Ireland has won
more than £50k EVERY SIX DAYS** on average with no fewer than 98 ‘high tier’ winners.
But it’s not only the players in Northern Ireland who are celebrating the National Lottery’s
20th birthday as more than £1 billion has been invested in projects here since the Lottery
began.
The first National Lottery grant in Northern Ireland was £42,000 to Enniskillen Lawn Tennis
clubs to upgrade their courts and floodlighting. Since then, a huge total of 20,117 grants
has been awarded to individuals and organisations across the North helping to change
lives and transform communities.
The largest National Lottery grant remains the £45 million for Belfast’s Odyssey Complex
in 1997 while the smallest was £60 to help a writer with the publication of their first book in
2008.
Notable local sports stars who have received National Lottery support during their careers
include the world’s number one golfer Rory McIlroy, recently crowned world-super
bantamweight boxer Carl Frampton and Team GB Winter paralympic gold medallist Kelly
Gallagher. While iconic places such as the Giant’s Causeway visitor centre, St George’s
Market and the Ulster Museum, have all benefited from National Lottery funding.
Camelot Press Office
Tel: 020 7632 5711 Fax: 020 7240 7314 www.camelotgroup.co.uk www.national-lottery.co.uk
Registered Office: Camelot Tolpits Lane Watford WD18 9RN Registered in England & Wales No. 2822203
News
from The National Lottery®
A National Lottery spokesperson said: “In 20 years, the National Lottery has helped
transform life in Northern Ireland for the better, creating iconic cultural landmarks,
empowering communities and developing world class sporting talent. National Lottery
funding has improved people’s health, preserved our rich heritage and created a better
future for all.
“In addition to all the projects that have benefited, the past two decades have seen 81
lucky winners in Northern Ireland become overnight millionaires while 647 have won lifechanging amounts of £50k or more.
“With a staggering £1 billion invested in Northern Ireland projects over the past 20 years,
National Lottery players can be proud of the positive changes they have helped bring
about since that first draw in 1994,” he concluded.
The first National Lottery draw took place on Saturday 19 November, 1994. An amazing
22 million people watched as Noel Edmonds hosted the draw which saw seven jackpot
winners each scoop £839,254. The first millionaire was created in the second draw on the
following Saturday.
The National Lottery is available to play at retailers throughout Northern Ireland or online
at www.national-lottery.co.uk.
* based on the 46 month period from January 1 2011 to October 31 2014
** based on the 20 month period from March 1 2013 to October 31 2014
[ends]
MEDIA ENQUIRIES: For further information, please contact Michael Rafferty or
Michael McCrory of Duffy Rafferty Communications on 028 9073 0880. For more
information on National Lottery Good Causes please contact Ruairi O’Kane on
07788 612804 or email Ruairi.okane@lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.
Notes to Editors:
 Camelot UK Lotteries Limited is the licensed operator of The National Lottery® and is committed to
raising money for National Lottery Good Causes designated by Parliament. Camelot is not
responsible for distributing or awarding these funds.
 Each week, Camelot generates over £33 million for National Lottery-funded projects – in total £32
billion has now been raised and more than 430,000 individual grants have been made across the
UK, the biggest programme of civic and social regeneration since the 19th Century. To see the
difference it has made near you, visit – www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
 The National Lottery has so far given away over £53 billion in prizes and created more than 3,600
millionaires or multi-millionaires since its launch in 1994.
 For further information on Camelot, The National Lottery and its games, please visit:
www.camelotgroup.co.uk and www.national-lottery.co.uk
 Players of all National Lottery games must be aged 16 or over.
Camelot Press Office
Tel: 020 7632 5711 Fax: 020 7240 7314 www.camelotgroup.co.uk www.national-lottery.co.uk
Registered Office: Camelot Tolpits Lane Watford WD18 9RN Registered in England & Wales No. 2822203