Ultra Lotto 6/58 racks up P534M (91.24%) in July

 The sales for the elusive Ultra Lotto 6/58 jackpot prize has soared to more than P350 million and for the month of July alone it has earned a total amount of P534.4 million, an increase of 91.24 percent compared with the same period last year.

 

“As we all know our Lotto sales are jackpot-driven – the higher the jackpot prize, the higher the sales,” Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Alexander Balutan said.

As of July 2018, the overall sales of Lotto and other digit games is at P2.6 billion or P2,591,971,830, which is 3.64-percent lower compared with the same period last year.

Aside from Ultra Lotto 6/58, Mega Lotto 6/45 registered a P242,516,380 sales, an increase of 16.11 percent compared with the same period last; followed by Lotto 6/42 with P178,769,800 sales, an increase of 12.17 percent.

While Super Lotto 6/49 earned P183,998,120 in July, it is 31.81 percent lower compared with the same period last year. Same goes with Grand Lotto 6/55, which earned P167,098,620 but it is 42.50 percent lower compared with the same period last year.

As for Digit Games, 3-Digit registered the highest revenues at P668,770,690, but it is 19.12 percent lower compared with the same period last year, followed by EZ2 with P554,001,090 revenues at -6.36 percent, 4-Digit with P39,869,140 at -7.65 percent, and 6-Digit with P22,474,410 revenues at -11.01 percent.

The PCSO Charter, or RA 1169, particularly on revenue allocation, provides that the revenue of the PCSO shall be allocated to 55 percent for prize fund (payment of prizes), 30 percent for charity fund (various charity programs and service) and 15 percent as operating fund (maintenance and operating expenses).

“Thirty percent of PCSO revenues automatically goes to the Charity Fund, which pays for the free hospitalization and medicines of indigent patients and other medical services such as chemo and dialysis treatments, among others,” Balutan said.

As of first semester, the agency has already spent P4.6 billion to pay for medicines, hospital bills, and medical treatments of patients under PCSO’s flagship project Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP). This is 30.62 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

Aside from generating funds, STL also provides jobs for people who could not pass the nitty-gritties of job fairs because of their lack of education, old age, or they are physically disabled.

As of June 2018, the expanded Small Town Lottery (STL) has provided 311,436 jobs, a 40-percent increase compared with the same period last year, which is only 222,896 employees.

“Can you just imagine these cobradores are already earning more than P7,000 up to P8,000 monthly to feed their families. Not only we gave them jobs, we saved them from vices (e.g. drugs) and from being exploited by criminals. We are giving our countrymen the opportunity to have a clean and decent job, and it’s not coming from illegal,” said Balutan.

Charity fund is only 30 percent of Net Sales of PCSO. Out of 30 percent, only 14.150 percent goes to “charity” fund; while 1 percent goes to the shares of city/municipality, 0.75 percent to congressional district, 1 percent to provincial government, 0.2 percent to the National Bureau of Investigation, 2.3 percent to the Philippine National Police, 0.7 percent to the National Headquarters, 1.6 percent to Police Regional Office, 10 percent for Documentary Stamp Tax.

Earlier, Balutan called for the Congress to consider repealing the laws governing the mandatory contributions, which are eating up the agency’s Charity Fund.