Irish lottery: 'Shergar has a better chance of winning Squid Game'

The number of balls used in the irish lottery has increased from 36 in 1988 to 47 currently

A member of the Irish parliament has called for an investigation into how the country's lottery jackpot has not been won for six months.

Fine Gael TD (Irish MP) Bernard Durkan said the lottery playing public were losing faith that the multimillion euros top prize was winnable.

It was last won on 6 June.

Mr Durkan said the chances of winning "seem so remote that punters must be thinking Shergar would have a better chance at winning Squid Game".

"I'm not saying anything odd has happened, but it's the longest run in the history of the game so we need a bit of reassurance," he said.

A spokesperson for the Irish National Lottery said the 23-week rollover was "unprecedented".

The Irish lottery bi-weekly top prize has rolled over since June and has been capped since September at €19m (£15.9m).

A "full investigation and audit "would restore people's faith, Mr Durkan said.

'Drop a couple of balls'

When launched in 1988, lottery players in Ireland had 36 numbers from which to choose. That number has been raised over the years and currently players choose from 47 numbers.

Mr Durkan said he has never agreed with the decision of lottery operator Premier Lotteries Ireland to increase the numbers.

He said it is time for its chief executive, Andrew Algeo, to "drop a couple of balls as a mark of good faith".

"Mr Algeo, tear down those balls," Mr Durkan said.

He also wants an independent observer returned to oversee future draws and said he will write to Michael McGrath, Ireland's Public Expenditure Minister, with his concerns.

A spokesperson for the National Lottery said that "since September 2015, 80% of Lotto jackpots have been won within seven weeks and the odds of winning the Lotto jackpot have not been altered during this time".

They said that players had shared about €12.7m (£10.7m) of prize money and more than €50m (£42m) had been raised for the lottery's Good Causes programme since the rollover began.

"Everyone in the National Lottery is looking forward to handing the biggest ever Lotto jackpot cheque to a lucky winner soon," they added.