Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan has announced on Sunday the agency is gearing for a newer ISO certification that is risk-based and would take into consideration the context of the organization.
“ISO certification gives confidence to our public that we have strict implementation when it comes to our draw procedures, that their bets are really there, and they have equal chances of winning. It also gives us the chance to be at par with other gaming counterparts all over the world,” said Balutan.
PCSO is currently certified under the ISO 9000-2008 Quality Management System Certification by third-party auditor TUV Rheinland Philippines for the conduct and management of the Online Lottery Draws and processing of prize claims amounting to P5,000 and above.
“When we say draw procedures, it is not just the actual drawing of the winning numbers, but also the data center, which includes the actual conduct of draw, broadcast of the lotto draws, and of course the handling of ticket themselves,” explained Aimee de Viterbo, officer-in-charge manager for PCSO’s Gaming Technology Department.
PCSO has maintained the certification for the past three years. The ISO 9001 standard now has a newer version, 9001:2015.
“The difference is that the current version is already risk-based and would take into consideration the context of the organization, whereas in the 2008 version, one can choose the core processes for standardization,” De Viterbo said.
Apart from the core processes of the gaming technology, accounting, and budget and treasury departments, the ISO standards are also applied to all support processes provided by the agency’s various departments which include legal, human resources, asset and supply management, general services, information and technology, corporate planning, and data security division.