PCSO launches new lottery game

MANILA, Philippines - A new lottery game with a minimum jackpot prize of P30 million and a starting bet of only P20 will be introduced by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

PSCO spokesman Larry Cedro said they will start selling tickets today for the first draw of the Grand Lotto tomorrow, which will replace the high-end game Power Lotto.

Cedro said the agency decided to replace the Power Lotto because of an increase in requests for medical assistance from indigent patients.

He said the PCSO needs to find alternative ways to raise funds for such requests.

In an interview, Cedro said the Grand Lotto will be targeting bettors from all social classes, different from the Power Lotto, which was aimed at those from classes A and B.

He said the new lotto game will have draws three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. Bettors will be choosing six numbers from 1 to 55 and pay only P20 for one bet. Each betting card will have six boxes, just like the previous lotto games. The initial jackpot for the Grand Lotto will be P30 million.

Cedro said that like the existing 6/42, 6/45 and 6/49 lotto games, the 6/55 Grand Lotto game will be using a single panel system, which means a bettor only has to choose a combination of six numbers in any order.

He said the two-panel system for the Power Lotto, one which had five chosen numbers and another with just one number from 0 to 9, appeared to have been “unfamiliar” to bettors.