Senators are calling for an investigation into the “extraordinary” Grand Lotto draw, in which 433 bettors shared the ₱236 million jackpot after matching all numbers.
A Senate resolution is necessary, according to Senators Risa Hontiveros and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III of the Senate Minority, to calm concerns about irregularities in the results of the lottery run by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
“Statistically speaking, this is a very rare event. I will file a resolution, because this is my concern, these lotto games are authorized by the Republic of the Philippines. Therefore, we need to maintain and protect the integrity of these gambling games that we have authorized,” Pimentel said.
In order to “protect the integrity of our lotto games,” Pimentel said he will be submitting a resolution to have the lottery draw reviewed.
“We have to look at the entire system of our lotto games. This is a good chance kasi maraming nagtatanong,” he added.
Hontiveros, for her part, supports Pimentel’s demand that the lottery draw be investigated.
“I support my minority leader in his call to investigate the extraordinary results of last night’s lotto draw. We just want to rule out any doubts in the public mind that the results have been manipulated. While we recognize that people tend to bet in patterns, we also want to make sure the system is secure, free from glitches, and trustworthy,” said Sen. Hontiveros in a statement.
The total of 433 bettors will split the 236,091,188 prize from last Saturday night’s 6/55 Grand Lotto among themselves. Each winner took home ₱545,245 in winnings.
The winning combination was 09-45-36-27-18-54 for the bettors.
