P1 billion lotto jackpot game ready to launch

MANILA, Philippines — The private proponent of the country’s first billion-peso lotto jackpot game said it is ready to start as soon as government regulators give the go-signal for the project.

In an exclusive online interview with The STAR, Mobile Business Integration Leisure & Entertainment Systems Inc. (MobileSys) president Alejandro Alonte said their proposed Win-A-Billion Lotto game for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is just waiting for the green light from the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB).

With a daily guaranteed jackpot of P1 billion, the Win-A-Billion Lotto game will be a game changer for both the PCSO, the government’s premier charity arm, and the lotto bettors themselves, he said.

“As far as we’re concerned, this game will definitely generate a lot of funds for PCSO and therefore PCSO can help more people. Our objective basically is to help PCSO generate more funds,”  Alonte, a former vice president of listed gaming company Leisure & Resorts World Corp. (LRWC) that operates e-bingo and e-gaming hubs, said.

He said the game is designed to be played online to make it more accessible and convenient for the betting public.

“The technology that we will use here is internet-based. The advantage is that it will have a wider reach, so even in the far-flung areas, we can be there,” he said.

More importantly, Alonte said their proposal would entail no expenditure or investment from the government, specifically the PCSO.

“Unlike in all their other games right now, PCSO spends for marketing, operations, prizes. But our proposal is different, every expense will be ours – marketing, promotion, sales, and over P1 billion in prizes.”

“The biggest difference is every draw day, the jackpot is P1 billion. Even if the P1 billion jackpot is hit one night, in the next draw, the jackpot is again at P1 billion,” Alonte said.

“So that’s the attraction, it’s there every night. There is always the chance to win a P1 billion jackpot,” he said.

“And also, it’s just not a matter of one person winning P1 billion, and that’s that. There are also secondary prizes - there’s a P50-million prize and a P22.5 million prize. There are minor prizes too: P5,00, P3,000, P250, P150. There’s plenty of prizes,” Alonte said.

The minimum bet is set at P100, Alonte said. The minimum bet for the PCSO’s existing lotto games, namely the Regular Lotto 6/42, the Super Lotto 6/49, Mega Lotto 6/45, Grand Lotto 6/55 and Ultra Lotto 6/58, is P20.

Based on the game mechanics, a player chooses six numbers: five numbers from one to 69, and one “Win-A-Billion” number from 1 to 26. To win the P1-billion jackpot, the bet must correctly get all six numbers.

For the secondary prizes, Alonte said a P50-million prize awaits the bettor correctly guessing the first five numbers correctly.

“There are a number of variations that’s why there are a lot of prizes. It does not mean that if you did not get the first five numbers and the billion-peso number you’re done. It could be on the lower end, which is the under P50 million, or on the higher end, the P50 million consolation prize.”