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Lottery games post 2.81% revenue hike in January-February : PCSO

By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan

March 9, 2018, 7:16 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has reported a slight increase in the sales of lotto and other number games.

The PCSO said the sales have increased by 2.81 percent, registering at PHP5.384 billion from January to February to PHP5.337 billion for the same period last year.

"Of all number games, Ultra Lotto 6/58 had the highest reported sales at PHP861,377,840 with 83.91 percent increase, followed by Super Lotto at P454,712,080 sales with 25.78 percent increase in two months,” PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan said in a statement.

Grand Lotto 6/55 similarly increased at 2.92 percent with P401,667,840 reported sales.

Lotto 6/42 and Mega Lotto had P388,657,760 and P428,712,080 reported sales, respectively, but they were down by 14 percent and 28 percent.

Maritess Jose, Division Chief of the Product Research and Development of PCSO Gaming Sector, said the sale of the lotto games sales rate depends on the amount of the jackpot prize.

“’Yung lotto games kasi are jackpot-driven sales. Ina-associate kasi natin ‘yan sa jackpot prize natin. Kapag mataas ang jackpot natin, malaki din ‘yung nagiging sales (The lotto games are jackpot-driven sale. It was associated on the jackpot prize. If the jackpot is bigger, the sales getting bigger),” Jose explained.

Lotto 6/58 had a jackpot prize of PHP331.971 million when it was won by two bettors. Jose said jackpot prizes increased after several draws without a winner; while the jackpot prizes of Lotto 6/42 had PHP49.659 million and Mega Lotto 6/45 had PHP45.394 million only when they were won.

In 2017, Lotto 6/42 and Mega Lotto 6/45 had accumulated PHP79.806 million and PHP147.466 million jackpot prizes, respectively when they were won.

As for other games, the 6-Digit had 12.05 percentage increase with PHP42.824 million sales, 4-Digit had 6.31 percent increase with PHP89.013 million sales, and EZ2 had PHP1.225 billion sales with 5.45 percent increase.

For the 3-Digit, it has the highest sales of PHP1.492 billion but it is down by 11.21 percent compared to its sales last year.

“This is due to Small Town Lottery (STL) expansion. Imagine from 20 AACs in January 2017, we now have 81 Authorized Agent Corporations (AACs) compared last year of the same month,” Jose noted.

STL is a regular game by PCSO authorized by the national government through Section 1 of Republic Act 1169.

AACs are corporations or cooperatives duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) that applied, been duly qualified and expressly authorized by the PCSO to conduct STL in a particular area.

Last January, the sales of the expanded STL posted PHP1.87 billion, a 103.96 percent increase from the sales of the same month last year.

“All our funds come from gaming. We rely on the betting public to raise our revenues by playing more lottery games, especially STL. We don't have appropriations from the government. That's why we are urging the local government units/office to support STL. We can only give what have,” Balutan said.

The PCSO Charter, or Republic Act (RA) No. 1169, is mandated "to provide and raise funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities of national character" and these funds are generated from Lotto, Keno, STL, and Sweepstakes.

“Our STL continues to raise more funds to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s free medicines and financial assistance to medical patients in the country amid the vilification campaign being waged in the media by vested-interest individuals to destroy the lottery game in particular and PCSO in general," Balutan said. (PNA)

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