Bettors line up at a lotto outlet in Makati. (File photo by EDWIN BACASMAS / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Wednesday clarified that the alleged multiple wins by a bettor in a single month were merely claims in its minor games and not in the jackpot lotto.
The PCSO made the pronouncement in response to Senator Raffy Tulfo, who, citing a list from the PCSO itself, claimed that there was a single bettor who won multiple times in a month.
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“To be clear, the reported 20 claims made by one person does not necessarily make that claimant the winner of 20 Digit Games,” said the PCSO in a statement.
It attributed the multiple claims to the agency’s so-called ‘paki-claim’ scheme, which allows winners in its minor games, such as the Digit Games 2D, 3D, 4D and 6D, to have representatives or PCSO lotto outlet agents collect the winnings on their behalf.
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“Since they are just minor prizes, a winner can ask someone he trusts to claim the prize for him through the so-called ‘paki-claim,’” the PCSO said.
The agency explained some winners opt for the ‘paki-claim’ scheme due to their distance from the outlets, added expenses and lack of valid identification cards.
“On the other hand, for jackpot-bearing games like Lotto 6/42, Mega Lotto 6/45, Super Lotto 6/49, Grand Lotto 6/55, and Ultra Lotto 6/58, winners are required to personally appear at the PCSO Main Office to claim their jackpot prizes,” PCSO said.
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Jackpot lotteries
Meanwhile, the PCSO also pointed out that there were no cases of bettors winning multiple times in its jackpot games in the list on which Tulfo was basing his statement.
“What Senator Tulfo apparently failed to notice was that the same list would also show that for jackpot-bearing games like Lotto 6/42, Mega Lotto 6/45, Super Lotto 6/49, Grand Lotto 6/55, and Ultra 6/58, there was no winner who won more than once,” the PCSCO said.
“The real issue here, therefore, is the claimant, and not the number of times that he supposedly won as what Senator Tulfo seemed to have assumed,” it added.