Lottery regulator has 'easy money' phrase dropped from Telly Bingo script after complaints
The Regulator of the National Lottery asked the lottery operator to stop using the phrases “easy money” and “giving away lots of cash” during Telly Bingo, the gameshow broadcast on RTÉ, after complaints about the language used on air. The request is set out in the regulator’s annual report for 2025, published on 3 November 2026. The regulator described the expressions as potentially misleading and said they trivialised the nature of the product. The operator agreed to remove them, and the regulator’s office reported that it did so promptly.
What the regulator found on Telly Bingo
The review began with a complaint about language used during the Telly Bingo programme. According to the annual report, the regulator’s office then reviewed recordings of both the Telly Bingo and Lotto shows rather than the one broadcast alone.
The phrases “easy money” and “giving away lots of cash” were found in Telly Bingo.
The Irish Times reported that the request followed two complaints, one made in 2024 and one in 2025, and that the operator “promptly agreed” to drop the terms from the script. No enforcement action was needed, since the change was made on request, and the report does not say whether any similar wording turned up in the Lotto recordings that were reviewed alongside it.
Why the phrasing was ruled misleading
The regulator’s objection rests on how the game actually works. In its report, the office wrote that it was concerned such terms “could be misleading and trivialise the nature of the product”, because money is not given away for free or to everyone taking part.
Prizes are instead awarded through a random draw to people who bought a €2.50 Telly Bingo ticket. A presenter talking about cash being handed out skips over both the stake and the odds, which is the gap the regulator pointed to.
That distinction matters.
Regulator Carol Boate said that ensuring players are not exposed, “intentionally or otherwise”, to practices that could lead to problem or underage play is central to the office’s work, adding: “Where we identify practices that fall short of the standards we expect, we act quickly to have them changed.”
Complaints and other findings in the report
The Telly Bingo request was one of several reviews in the same report. The regulator received 28 complaints from members of the public during 2025, mainly about the online experience, game design and retailer service, and no enforcement actions were required.
A separate review of online marketing led to the algorithm that identifies at-risk players being applied to a wider group, with marketing emails now switched off for longer for those players. A review of how prize winners’ anonymity is protected found no issues needing enforcement.
National Lottery sales came to €871.6 million in 2025, according to the report.
Anyone who believes the National Lottery Act or the operator’s licence has been breached can complain to the operator first, or directly to the regulator’s office by email to [email protected], by post to 5 George’s Dock, IFSC, Dublin 1, or by telephone on 01-8727932.
