Lotto sales and other games posed a 2.81-percent increase with reported overall sales of P5,384,844,980 in January and February compared to the sales in the same months last year, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan said on Thursday.
“Of all number games, Ultra Lotto 6/58 had the highest reported sales at P861,377,840 with 83.91 percent increase, followed by Super Lotto at P454,712,080 sales with 25.78 percent increase in two months,” Balutan said.
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.
“’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,” explained Maritess Jose, Division Chief of the Product Research and Development of PCSO Gaming Sector.
Lotto 6/58 had a jackpot prize of P331,971,464 when it was won by two. Jose said jackpot prizes increase after several draws without a winner; while the jackpot prizes of Lotto 6/42 had P49,659,101 and Mega Lotto 6/45 had P45,394,304 only when they were won.
In 2017, Lotto 6/42 and Mega Lotto 6/45 had accumulated P79,806,976 and P147,466,664 jackpot prizes, respectively when they were won.
As for other games, the 6-Digit had 12.05 percentage increase with P42,824,000 sales, 4-Digit had 6.31 percent increase with P89,013,320 sales, and EZ2 had P1,225,834,240 sales with 5.45 percent increase.
For the 3-Digit, it has the highest sales of P1,492,266,920, 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 explained.
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), respectively 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 P1.87 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.