PCSO authorized 29 firms for STL operations
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) had 29 authorized agent-corporations of small-town lottery (STL) all over the country as of 2010.
In the STL, a bettor chooses a two-number combination between 1 and 38 in some areas, and between 1 and 40 in others. The PCSO draws the winning numbers.
In 2006, the STL was launched in the provinces of Quezon, Pampanga, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, Laguna, Bulacan, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Tarlac, Oriental Mindoro and Ilocos Norte.
The game was introduced in Albay, Olongapo and Batangas provinces in 2007, and the following year, it was launched in Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Cavite and Isabela provinces.
In 2010, the STL came to Romblon, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon, Leyte, Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Sur.
The STL was first launched by the administration of President Corazon Aquino in 1987, with the hope of stamping out “jueteng,” an illegal numbers racket. Both involved betting on two-number combinations.
Owing to their similar mechanics, the STL was used as a front by jueteng operators. A House inquiry following the end of STL operations in 1990 revealed that franchises for the STL had been awarded to the same people behind jueteng.
In 2005, the Arroyo administration revived the STL, with the PCSO launching it on test-run mode by 2006.
The STL made P9.5 billion in gross receipts from February 2006 to August 2010, according to PCSO officials.
In 2011, it generated P4.6 billion for the government, said PCSO General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas.
Five percent of STL revenues go to agent-corporations, another 5 percent go to taxes, while the remaining 90 percent are allotted to prizes, charity funds and operating funds.
Thirty percent of the proceeds go to charity—broken down into 10 percent for the host city or municipality, 5 percent for the provincial government, 2.5 percent for the congressional district, 5 percent for the Philippine National Police, and 7.5 percent for the PCSO. Inquirer Research
Sources: www.pcso.gov.ph, Inquirer Archives
