Number 46 Won Ireland’s €3.64 Million Lotto Jackpot on Its Final Night

Ireland’s Lotto sent two balls into retirement Wednesday night, but number 46 managed one last dramatic appearance first.

A single online Quick Pick ticket in County Cork matched 2, 13, 37, 38, 41, and 46 in the September 2 draw, winning the full €3,641,884 jackpot. Bonus ball 18 was not needed for the top prize.

The timing makes this more than a standard winner story. It was the final Irish Lotto draw played with 47 balls. Numbers 46 and 47 are now leaving the main game as Lotto moves to a 6-from-45 format on Saturday, September 5.

The retiring number went out with a jackpot

Number 46 was among the six main winning balls, giving it a literal jackpot farewell. Number 47 also appeared as the bonus ball in the separate Lotto Plus 2 draw, although nobody won that draw’s €250,000 top prize.

The jackpot-winning entry was bought online on Tuesday, September 1. Because the purchase was digital, the National Lottery says an email was sent to the winner, who should contact its Prize Claims team to arrange collection.

Official results show more than 55,000 winning tickets or prize outcomes across Lotto and Lotto Plus that night. In the main Lotto draw, 10 entries matched five numbers for €2,053 each, while 29 matched four plus the bonus for €178.

Check the complete draw at LuckMaker’s latest lottery results, and save your game, draw date, numbers, and purchase details in Ticket Vault. An online notification is useful, but a deliberate checking routine is safer than relying on an email being noticed.

What changes on Saturday

From September 5, Irish Lotto players will choose six numbers from 1 to 45, down from 1 to 47. The National Lottery says the jackpot odds improve from approximately 1 in 10.7 million to 1 in 8.1 million.

That improvement follows directly from the smaller number field. There are 10,737,573 possible six-number combinations in a 6/47 game, compared with 8,145,060 in a 6/45 game—about 2.59 million fewer combinations.

The ticket price is not changing. The minimum remains two Lotto lines for €4, or €6 for two lines with Lotto Plus. Lotto Plus 1 keeps its €1 million top prize, while Lotto Plus 2 increases from €250,000 to €1 million.

A third weekly draw is also being added. Irish Lotto will now draw Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, with the first Monday drawing scheduled for September 7.

One caution: better odds per line do not automatically mean a lower weekly spend. Moving from two draws to three creates another purchase opportunity. Players who participate every draw should decide on a weekly entertainment budget, not simply a per-draw limit.

Old saved lines may need attention

Any personal system containing 46 or 47 no longer fits the new main Lotto matrix. Scheduled and advance plays deserve a careful review during the transition, especially if a player has reused the same numbers for years.

LuckMaker’s Lucky Number Generator can produce a clean random selection across a supported game’s current number field. It does not predict results or make one valid combination more likely than another. The Cork winner happened to use a Quick Pick; that is a winning example, not evidence of an advantage.

Before choosing a game, compare its cost, odds, draw frequency, and prize structure. Check the LuckMaker Score at luckmaker3000.com/games—our proprietary 0–100 game rating.

A clean ending and a new beginning

Wednesday’s result gave Ireland’s 6/47 era an unusually tidy finale: one winner claimed €3,641,884, number 46 appeared in the jackpot combination, and the game avoided carrying an old-format jackpot into its redesign.

The prize is governed by Irish rules, so LuckMaker’s U.S.-focused Lottery Tax Calculator should not be used to estimate this winner’s outcome. International winners should seek advice appropriate to their residence and circumstances before moving or gifting large sums.

LuckMaker covers 98 games across 25 U.S. states and 9 international markets. Use the Lucky Number Generator for unbiased selections, keep complete entries in Ticket Vault, and check the game page before playing—particularly when a lottery changes its number field, prizes, or schedule.