PCSO raises lotto ticket price and minimum jackpots

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) increased the price of lotto tickets from PHP 20 to PHP 25 and raised the minimum jackpot prizes for all major lotto games, effective February 2025¹. The change applies to tickets bought at outlets and through the PCSO e-Lotto platform, the agency's web-based service for buying tickets online¹.

The minimum jackpot for each major game rose as follows¹:

PCSO General Manager Mel Robles said the price adjustment was meant to lift jackpot amounts and raise more money for the agency's charity and welfare programs¹.

The same page states that PCSO is pushing for a total jackpot prize of PHP 1 billion to generate interest in e-Lotto¹. It does not give a date for that target or say which game it refers to.

Lower prize tiers also carry fixed shared amounts. In Ultra Lotto 6/58, matching five of six numbers pays PHP 1.5 million shared and four of six pays PHP 1.4 million shared; in Grand Lotto 6/55 the figures are PHP 1.4 million and PHP 1.3 million; in Super Lotto 6/49, PHP 1.3 million and PHP 1.2 million; in Mega Lotto 6/45, PHP 1.2 million and PHP 1.1 million; and in Lotto 6/42, PHP 1.1 million and PHP 1.0 million¹. The page says Grand Lotto 6/55 now runs under a shared-prize consolation system, with the jackpot varying based on ticket sales¹.

Prizes above PHP 10,000 are subject to 20 percent withholding tax under the TRAIN Law, and a 1 percent commission goes to the lotto agent who sold a winning ticket¹. Prizes of PHP 20 up to PHP 10,000 can be claimed at any authorized outlet or PCSO branch office; PHP 10,001 up to PHP 300,000 at a branch office or the PCSO main office; and PHP 300,000.01 and above, including jackpots, only at the PCSO main office on Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City¹. Winners must claim within one year of the draw date, and unclaimed prizes revert to PCSO charity funds¹.

What it means for players

A single line now costs PHP 25 instead of PHP 20, a 25 percent increase, so the same spend buys fewer combinations. The starting jackpots are larger, but the lower tiers are shared, meaning a fixed amount is divided among all winners in that tier. Tickets must be intact and readable, with an undamaged barcode, or they will not be honored¹. Prizes above PHP 10,000 lose 20 percent to withholding tax, so a PHP 10 million jackpot is paid net of that deduction. Players buying online must verify identity through the e-Lotto app by submitting photos of the front and back of a valid ID plus a selfie; accepted IDs include the Philippine Identification card, driver's license, passport and, for foreign nationals, an Alien Certificate of Registration ID card or a Department of Labor and Employment work permit¹.

What happens next

The page does not set out further scheduled changes to ticket prices or jackpot floors beyond the February 2025 adjustment¹. No date has been reported for the PHP 1 billion total jackpot target mentioned for e-Lotto¹.

For background on ticket costs, see How Much Does a PCSO Lotto Ticket Cost? and How Much Lottery Tickets Cost in Asia: Ticket Prices by Game. For game rules and draw days, see PCSO Lotto Games, Prizes and Draw Days and Pick-6 Lotto Games in Asia Compared: Number Pools, Bonus Balls and Prize Tiers. For how state lotteries work across the region, see Lotteries in Asia: How State and Licensed Lotteries Work, Odds, Prizes and Who May Play, and for market access, see Can I Gamble in the Philippines?.