Premier Lotteries Ireland’s war with online lottery betting operators has flared up again following the release of a new report into National Lottery sales.

On Thursday, PLI made note of a report by Indecon Economic Consultants that claimed half of Irish consumers were aware of at least one lottery betting operator, a significantly higher figure than the 32% of UK consumers who claimed knowledge of lottery betting.

The report, which was commissioned by PLI, also found that public awareness of a specific lottery betting operator – the identity of which wasn’t specified – was 32% in May 2017, up from just 19% the previous August. Lottery betting operator Lottoland launched its Irish-licensed operations in March 2017.

PLI, which operates the National Lottery, has been moaning about its lottery betting competitors ever since Lottoland, MyLotto24 and MultiLotto began operating in Ireland. The war of words ramped up this summer after PLI CEO Dermot Griffin appeared to blame these operators for ticket price hikes that took effect on September 1.