The Irish National Lottery has found itself at the center of a controversy stemming from a claim of a previous lotto winner that the agency gave an advice on how to avoid tax.

Lotto boss Dermot Griffin took on a defensive stance on Tuesday amid calls from Senator Kevin Humphreys for the state tax revenue agency to investigate whether or not the National Lottery have helped people to defraud Ireland’s tax system.

It would be recalled that the National Lottery was dragged into the issue after Mary Walsh, who won the €3.4 million (US$3.62 million) lottery winner Mary Walsh, claimed that the firm running the National Lottery advised her at the time of her win that getting family members to sign the ticket would mean she could avoid gift tax.

Speaking to the Irish Sun, the National Lottery insisted that its claims procedure was “in accordance with our statutory and regulatory obligations.”