Beat the Lotto
When Ireland inaugurated its National Lottery, it became a national obsession. One man soon discovered a flaw in the system, gaming the odds to win it all and dividing the nation in the process.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2026
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Sunday, May 17, 2026
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
In the 1980s, Ireland's economy lagged well behind those of its fellow European Union members. The Celtic Tiger boom was still a decade away when the government established the National Lottery, offering dreams of financial affluence few Irish ever dared imagine beforehand. An instant success, the public became obsessed by the televised Lotto drawings—none more so than mathematician and avid stamp-collector Stefan Klincewicz. Using mathematical analysis, he reckoned the odds could be beaten if he could just gather enough people to form a syndicate to buy every single ticket combination—well, almost every combination, as the film explains. Director Ross Whitaker fashions this unbelievable true story into a gripping thriller, mirroring the tension felt by the public as the lottery authorities caught wind of the plan. The conflict between the government-backed lottery agents and an audacious syndicate unabashedly attempting to remove any element of chance became a strange parable for modern-day capitalism, neatly dividing public support in half behind each camp. With insightful interviews and fantastic archival footage, Beat the Lotto looks back at 1990s Ireland to offer a compelling tale of one small cadre's attempt to game the system.
—Dan Doody
- Director: Ross Whitaker
- Principal Cast: Stefan Klincewicz, Pat Kenny, Mark Little, Lise Hand
- Country: Ireland
- Year: 2025
- Running Time: 80 min.
- Producer: Aideen O’Sullivan, Ross Whitaker
- Cinematographers: Alex Sapienza
- Editors: Nathan Nugent
- Music: Michael Fleming
- Filmography: The Road Down Under (2023), Rachael Blackmore: A Grand Year (2021), Barney Curley: The Man Who Beat the Bookies (2021), The Toughest Summer (2020), Shane Lowry: Open (2019), Katie (2018), Anthony Foley: Munsterman (2017), Between Land and Sea (2016), Hacked (2016), Unbreakable (2014), Saviours (2008)
- Language: English
- International Sales: MetFilm
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