PCSO ready to launch new lottery games

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is ready to roll out new revenue-raising lottery and digit games during the first quarter of the year, PCSO general manager Royina Garma said yesterday.

Garma said the PCSO was able to secure preliminary clearances from the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and Department of Budget and Management.

In a public notice published in The STAR last week, the charity agency issued the revised rules on the PCSO evaluation and processing of game proposals before signing the contract with the proponents of the new games.

“We are planning to launch new lottery games during the first quarter of the year,” Garma said.

She said they are just waiting for the green light from the OGCC.

“I hope that the OGCC will render a favorable opinion soon so we can have a contract signing with PCSO agents,” Garma said.

The PCSO has been ramping up efforts to boost the agency’s revenue collections to fulfill its mandate of allocating 40 percent of its charity funds to the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law.

One of the new lotto games is called win-a-billion, wherein a jackpot of P1 billion is up for grabs three times a week for a minimum bet of P100.

The Birthday Panalo digit game offers lotto players a chance to win on their birthday.