Arroyo orders PCSO to stop lotto ticket price hike

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday night ordered the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to shelve its August 15 hike of the price of each lotto ticket. Mrs Arroyo’s directive was announced by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye through a text message to Palace reporters without mentioning the reason behind the decision. PCSO is scheduled to double the price of each ticket from P10 to P20 next week. This will cover the Super Lotto 6/49, Mega Lotto 6/45 and Lotto 6/42 games. However, ticket prices for three-digit lotto "Swertres" and two-digit lotto "EZ 2" will remain at P10. PCSO acting spokesperson Larry Cedro said the agency was prompted to increase ticket prices after noticing spikes in lotto sales when jackpot prizes soared. However, Cedro was quick to add that along with the rise in ticket prices also comes the rise in prize pots. Lotto 6/42 and Mega Lotto 6/45's starting jackpot prizes of P3 million and 4.5 million will go up to P6 million and P9 million respectively. Meanwhile, the P8-million initial prize pot for Lotto 6/42 will shoot up to P16 million. The increase, Cedro said, will allow PCSO to allot more funds for its education and medical assistances as well as the government's public service programs. On June 23, PCSO announced that a winner from the Visayas-Mindanao area hit the P126-million jackpot of the 6/49 lottery draw. - GMANews.TV