The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office started on Friday the test run of its web-based application betting platform “e-Lotto”—a digital version of the traditional lottery game.
“e-Lotto is a significant milestone for PCSO as we embrace the digital era and cater to the evolving needs of our players,” PCSO general manager Mel Robles said in a briefing yesterday.
Meanwhile, PCSO is offering more than P1 billion in combined winnings for lucky bettors after it raised to a minimum guaranteed P500 million the jackpot prizes each for its Grand Lotto 6/55 and Ultra Lotto 6/58 games.
Robles said the high-stakes games, which the PCSO dubbed “Handog Pakabog” Christmas draws, will start today, Dec. 16 (Saturday).
He said the prizes are separate from the other lotto games like 6/49, which offers a jackpot prize of P268,902,813.00 as of Thursday, and the 6/45 and 6/42 games.
“This is our way of showing our appreciation to our loyal patrons,” Robles said.
“We made it sweeter by making it P500 million for each of the two jackpots. We’ll give you a big jackpot and we’ll also give you the chance to help. That’s our Christmas gift,” he added.
During the year-long e-Lotto dry run, players can place bets online and receive their winnings electronically.
“With e-Lotto, players can now conveniently place bets, choose their lucky numbers, and win exciting cash prizes from the comfort of their own homes,” Robles said.
He said the primary goal of e-Lotto is to offer players convenience, security, and transparency.
Players can access e-Lotto through the PCSO website (www.PCSO.gov.ph) by scanning the provided QR code and completing the registration process.
Next year, the e-Lotto application will be available for download on both Google Play and iOS platforms, Robles said.
PCSO said it expects to double its revenues and charity fund with the launch of e-Lotto.
Robles said once the e-Lotto becomes fully available on the Internet and mobile apps, the agency expects a conservative P17 billion in online sales as the betting population is also poised to increase from 2 percent to 4 or 5 percent.
“Based on the experience in other countries, it would double our sales and our capability for charity,” said Robles.
Payment methods include GCash, and negotiations are underway to introduce additional third-party gateway payments such as banks and e-wallets.
The registration process creates multiple layers of identity verification, making it significantly challenging for minors to bypass the system, the PCSO said.
The system can also suspend and perpetually block an account if any misrepresentation is found on the player’s part. With Roderick dela Cruz
