The Regulator of the National Lottery said PLI (Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), had breached the terms of its licence by allowing formerly self-excluded players to open new accounts and buy tickets.
The regulator did not require PLI to offer a self-exclusion option to players under its licence. However, after the operator created the option in 2019, it said PLI was on the hook for making sure the system worked correctly.
The issue dates from 2021 when a PLI algorithm deleted 126 accounts belonging to self-excluded customers. Normally, the operator must delete closed accounts after two years to comply with GDPR laws.
However, the regulator said the self-excluded accounts should have been kept aside to prevent the owners from opening new profiles.
As such, the lottery regulator opted to withhold €150,000 in payments to PLI. It sent the money to the exchequer for good causes. The sanction is the first time the Regulator of the National Lottery withheld payment to PLI for a licence breach.
