Beat The Lotto dives into the plot behind the 1980s National Lottery scandal
24 August 2026 at 9:35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
Beat The Lotto is the story of a ragtag syndicate, led by Cork based mathematician Stefan Klincewicz, and their attempt to fix the National Lottery in the early 1990s. The documentary will air on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Monday 24 August at 9:35pm.
Set against a backdrop of downtrodden 1980s Ireland when the National Lottery was introduced, the story goes that while some people dreamt of winning big, Stefan Klincewicz made it his mission to. Spotting an opportunity in the system, he recruited a team of chancers, who came together to try to purchase all the possible ticket combinations with hopes to claim the jackpot. When the plan became public knowledge, it divided the nation leaving the National Lottery to do all they could to stop the plan from coming to fruition.
Beat The Lotto documents the race against time, the battle of the brains and asks, could they conquer the luck of the draw?
Find out the fate of their mastermind plan in the feature documentary airing on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 9:35pm Monday 24 August.
Director Ross Whitaker said, “What I love about this story is that it illuminates a pivotal time in Ireland in a very entertaining and fascinating way. It’s a heist film, a caper, a thriller that builds to a very specific climax. Do they win the jackpot or not? But it’s also about elements of the Irish psyche and how we feel and felt about institutions and taking on the system.”
ENDS
Further information: Jade Carpenter, RTÉ Communications Lead
