<Tr> <Th> Shown on </Th> <Td> RTÉ One </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> lottery.ie </Td> </Tr> <P> The National Lottery (Irish: An Crannchur Náisiúnta) is the state lottery of Republic of Ireland . It was created when the Republic of Ireland government passed the National Lottery Act, 1986 to help raise funds for good causes . The eligible causes are sport and recreation, health and welfare, national heritage and the arts, the Irish language, and the natural environment . </P> <P> National Lottery gaming operations began on 23 March 1987 with scratchcards, and the flagship drawing game, Lotto, began in March 1988 . The National Lottery now operates three families of drawing games (Lotto, EuroMillions, and Daily Million), funds televised bingo and game shows, sells a wide range of scratchcards, and runs a number of Millionaire Raffles each year . National Lottery games are available online as well as through a network of over 3,700 retail agents nationwide . </P>

When did the national lottery start in ireland