PCSO raises minimum guaranteed jackpots for major lotto games

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) raised the minimum guaranteed jackpot for its major lotto games on December 16, 2023, as part of its Christmas and New Year draws. The PCSO lotto games Grand Lotto 6/55, Ultra Lotto 6/58 and Super Lotto 6/49 each went up by PHP 500 million, while Lotto 6/42 and MegaLotto 6/45 each rose by PHP 100 million¹. The PCSO announced the increases at the launch of its "Handog Pakabog" Christmas lotto promotion campaign, which was also announced on December 15².

The larger pots produced a run of big winners. On December 29, 2023, a lone bettor won PHP 571,554,916.40 in the Ultra Lotto 6/58 with the combination 19-35-25-42-58-05, the biggest jackpot of 2023¹. On January 16, 2024, a bettor won PHP 640 million in the Super Lotto 6/49 with the combination 26-33-14-48-06-42, and on January 17 another lone bettor hit the Grand Lotto 6/55 with 24-50-52-09-51-03 through the PCSO's new E-Lotto platform¹. Three bettors shared the Lotto 6/42 jackpot of PHP 108 million on January 2, and two people split the MegaLotto 6/45 jackpot of PHP 121 million on January 8¹.

Senator Raffy Tulfo said on his radio show on January 19 that he wants to examine why the PCSO raised the jackpots instead of letting the pots grow from bets. He said a bettor can cover all 14 million combinations in the 6/49 at PHP 20 each, a cost of PHP 280 million, and that without the PHP 500 million addition the pot would have been only about PHP 130 million¹.

PCSO General Manager Mel Robles said betting on all combinations is allowed but carries a big risk, because sharing the prize with other winners means a loss. He said the PCSO used its prize reserve fund to raise the pots in December to generate interest, that the strategy was used by his predecessors, and that he expects the agency to generate a billion in revenues in December alone and possibly in January too. He denied anyone was rigging the system¹. The PCSO recorded PHP 265 million in one-day sales on Tuesday, January 16¹, and a record single-day lotto sales figure of PHP 171 million on December 19².

Source: Rappler¹

What it means for players

The higher minimum jackpots applied to the PCSO lotto games sold at the roughly 4,600 kiosks nationwide and, from December 15, 2023, through the E-Lotto online platform⁴. E-Lotto ran as a one-year test run, with Pacific Online Systems Corp. as exclusive agent during that period, and allowed players to bet online and receive winnings electronically⁴. Registration required a mobile number, a scanned government ID confirming the player is over 18, and a selfie, with payment initially through GCash and credit cards prohibited⁴. Prizes above PHP 10,000 carry a 20 percent tax deducted automatically under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law³. The PCSO has said the online platform can curb illicit online number games⁴.

What happens next

Tulfo said a Senate hearing on the matter would be held on Thursday, January 25¹. Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel said they will also look into whether the E-Lotto platform makes it easier to bet on all combinations, and whether a group rather than one person could cover every combination¹.