The decision by the National Lottery and RTE to defy tradition and hold the Lotto draw on Christmas Day for the first time in its history has been met with criticism from gambling addiction organisations.

The Sunday Independent has learned the National Lottery will launch a major publicity drive tomorrow to promote the draw, which RTE will air between prime-time Christmas movies at 8pm.

The decision to hold the draw on Christmas Day is the first in Lotto history and attracted criticism from addiction experts.

Barry Grant, addiction counsellor and head of Problem Gambling Ireland, said he was “shocked, disappointed and dismayed” by the decision not to take “one day off” in the year, “especially given the next day — St Stephen’s Day — is one of the biggest gambling days of the year”.

He added: “The Lotto is the acceptable ‘family-friendly face of gambling in Ireland’ and we would never accept it if Paddy Power announced they were interrupting family movie time on Christmas night on RTE.”

He also noted the previous owner’s decision “to defer the Lotto for one day when it fell on a Christmas Day, in comparison to a more corporate view the new owners are taking”.

Professor Colin O’Gara, head of addiction services at St John of God, also called the decision “symbolic” of Ireland’s attitudes to dealing with the gambling addiction epidemic.

“Even people who run into trouble with gambling say they want more restriction. They say there is too much temptation and availability,” Prof O’Gara said.

Meanwhile, the decision also attracted criticism from the Church with the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Fr Denis Nulty, saying that making money from people’s vulnerability on Christmas Day was “crass and materialistic”.

Until 2013, when An Post ran the prize draw, the decision was taken each year to postpone the draw on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on a Wednesday or Saturday and instead hold it on an alternative day.

In 2013, the live Lotto draw was held on December 26, as Christmas Day fell on the Wednesday. In 2010, the draw was held on December 24, given that Christmas Day fell on a Saturday. In 2004, the decision was made to hold the draw on December 24 as Christmas Day again fell on a Saturday.

However, one of the new owners, multi-billion dollar Canadian group, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), says it sees no reason not to hold the draw on Christmas Day.

The group formally took over running the Irish National Lottery in 2013 for 20 years. OTPP is worth over $130bn and is Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan.

OTPP owns Camelot, which runs the UK Lottery, along with other lotteries worldwide. An Post remains involved in the operation of the lottery.

This weekend Bishop Nulty raised concerns that holding the draw on Christmas Day would play on people’s vulnerability and last-minute goodwill.

He said: “It is something that goes against the Christmas message and is crass and materialistic.

“If you are monetising and making money off people’s vulnerability, where people might say ‘Oh, I’ll just get a quick one’, then that is not about the real Christmas message. Our priority is to put Christ back at the centre of the Christmas message.”

Calling the Lotto decision “strange”, he also said he hoped people would “rather talk to friends and family on the day, rather than worrying if they had won something on the Lotto”.

It is estimated two-thirds of the population have gambled in the past year, with lottery tickets and scratchcards the most common form.

This weekend, a spokesman for the National Lottery told the Sunday Independent: “This is the first time the lottery has fallen on a Christmas Day since it was taken over by a new company.

“There is no real reason why the draw should be different. It is not encouraging people to get out on Christmas Day and buy a ticket as most wouldn’t be able to find any shop open on the day.”

The company later added: “Lotto draws take place every Wednesday and Saturday at 8pm from RTE studios.

“This is the first year since the new licence in 2014 that the Lotto draw falls on Christmas Day but we have had draws on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and other holidays before,” he said, referring to the EuroMillions, the draw for which takes place in Paris, and the Daily Million draws in National Lottery HQ, Dublin.

RTE said: “There is no additional cost to RTE or National Lottery for this broadcast.”

Meanwhile, host Nuala Carey has said: “This Christmas Day it has fallen on a day that the Lotto would take place so I think everybody was up to see, ‘Could it work?’ And the feeling was there were people available to do it, so they said they would go ahead and do it.

“It’s a decision made by the Lottery or RTE. I am just paid to present the night it is on.”

But she said: “The last two Christmas draws they have had were on Christmas Eve or on December 26 and both have been won, so my Christmas wish would be someone sitting down on Christmas Day will have the six magic numbers and win on the night. I think, ‘What could be a better Christmas present?’”

On having to work on the day, she said: “In our house, we always have Christmas lunch in the early afternoon so we will sit down at about half two and my family are well briefed that I will be doing absolutely no washing up and I’ll be leaving the house to be in RTE for 6pm.”

Sunday Independent