Small Town Lottery operations continue to rake in revenue as it now surpassed the 2017 collections as early as September 2018.
“From January to September, STL sales has (sic) already earned P19,799,218,822, which is P4,051,797,151 above the total STL sales in 2017,” reported PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan.
Balutan explained the increase in revenue could be credited to the increase in the number of operating STL authorized agent Corporations and in the Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipt primarily contributed to the increased revenue, through the support of the betting public.
At present, PCSO has 85 operational Authorized STL Agents nationwide, with 18 more approved ASAs for the first semester of 2018.
ASAs are corporations or cooperatives duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or with the Cooperative Development Authority, respectively, that applied, been duly qualified and expressly authorized by the PCSO to conduct STL in a particular area.
“Before I took over as PCSO general manager, STL was only earning P6,462,304,820 a year. When we took over in 2016, STL yielded P15,747,421,671, which was 144 percent higher than the previous year,” Balutan said.
“Unknown to many, STL is our second highest-earning product next to Lotto products. As of September, Lotto earned P3,621,614,420; while STL earned P2,688,734,971. Ang liit lang ng difference ng STL sa Lotto, and we have credit that to our STL operators, especially to their kabos, kubradores, and organic employees,” Balutan added.
Apart from contributing billions of pesos to the charity funds of PCSO, STL is providing “legal” jobs for people who used to play “cat and mouse” with authorities or those who cannot even pass the nitty-gritties of jobs because of old age, lack of education, and physical disability.
“We have saved them from vices—example drugs—and from being exploited by criminals. These people don’t have to run and hide anymore. STL is giving them and their families a ‘legal’ job and decent life,” he added.
“STL has employed hundreds of thousands of individuals who cannot even pass the nitty-gritties of job fairs due to age, lack of education, and physical disability,” Balutan said.
Meanwhile, despite the marked increase in Lotto sales for the months of July to October brought about the hype on Ultra Lotto 6/58, the overall lotto sales from January to September 2018 was recorded at P23,672,993,400 or P8,185,993,760 lower compared to its total 2017 collection of P31,858,987,200.
“We are confident we could still equal or increase our sales this year compared to last year. As we all know, Lotto is jackpot-driven. The higher the jackpot, the higher the sales,” Balutan said.