Bet P90 million, win over P600 million. Smart move, right?
That’s exactly what a bettor did in a recent lotto draw after spreading his bets across three lotto outlets in the Binondo area, Senator Raffy Tulfo said in a hearing on Monday.
At the hearing of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement on the recent big-money winnings in the lotto draws run by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Tulfo said it was also unclear if this person actually owned or franchised the outlets in question.
“Maybe he’s the owner, maybe he’s not. It appears he invested P90 million, P30 million for each outlet which he owns… This is in the Binondo area,” the senator said, adding that the winner used the System 12 way of betting each time.
Under a System 12, a bettor can get 924 possible selections on one ticket for a total bet cost of P18,480.
Tulfo’s problem with this, he said, is that the jackpot prize was increased by P500 million to push it over P600 million last December.
However, PCSO general manager Mel Robloes said the lotto jackpot is not won instantaneously.
“This is the reason why there is a snowball effect on some (draws)…
There’s a snowballing effect. If a jackpot is not won for the day, there will be an increase in the prize,” Robles said.
Tulfo didn’t mention the lotto game and the date when over P600 million was won. However, a lone winner bagged the Super Lotto 6/49 jackpot worth P640,654,817.60 on Jan. 16, 2024 with the combination 26-33-14-48-06-42.
The following day, on Jan. 17, another lone winner bagged the jackpot in the Grand Lotto 6/55 draw worth 698,806,269.20 with the combination 24-50-52-09-51-03.