Pimentel wants pilot run of e-lotto stopped

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Thursday called on the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to stop the pilot testing of “e-lotto” or the digital version of the lottery games.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Pimentel said that the features of the newly launched e-lotto should first be scrutinized amid possible risks. 

“Pinapadali ba nito na mag-place ng multiple bets or posible ba na dahil sa computer system na ma-cover mo lahat ng combinations? Matayaan mo lahat ng combinations? Kasi pwede mong i-compute ‘yun eh, pwede ka na ring mag-risk doon,” he said. 

(Does it make it easier to place multiple bets or is it possible that because of the computer system, you can cover all the combinations? Can you place bets in all the combinations? Because you can calculate that and you can take a risk.) 

“Kailangan maintindihan natin ito. Kaya ‘yan pilot testing nila, kung pwede ihinto na rin po ‘yan,” he added.

(We should be able to understand that. That pilot testing should be stopped.) 

It was in December 2023 when PCSO started the pilot test of e-lotto—a digital lottery platform targeted to make betting convenient and accessible for Filipinos.

It is currently available on PCSO’s website and can be downloaded on android devices. 

Transparency

PCSO General Manager Melquiades Robles, meanwhile, stressed that the PCSO “is all about transparency.”

“Iba ang merkado ng online. Lagi kong sinasabi na nung umoorder kayo online ng [fast food], hindi naman sinara ang restaurant eh dahil iba ho ang merkado no’n,” he said in a separate dzBB. 

(The e-lotto’s market is different. I always say that when you order fast food online, the restaurant is not closed since it has a different market.)

During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement last week, Robles denied that the PCSO can manipulate the lotto results. 

Robles also invited senators to observe the processes concerning the conduct of lotto draws to "erase any doubts about the integrity of results.”

Lawmakers have raised doubts about the unlikely odds that five lotto games with multi-million jackpots have been bagged since December 2023. 

Over P2.4 billion worth of jackpot prizes in 11 lotto games have been won since then, based on PCSO’s data. –Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News