MANILA, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is calling for an investigation of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office's (PCSO) successive lotto winners almost every week.
Pimentel, a mathematician, shared his confusion over the recent jackpot prizes being won consecutively. According to him, the chances of winning the lottery are "1 in every 8 million," and that's just for a small number lotto combination. He said it seems odd that there's a declared winner almost weekly.
"These are games designed by mathematicians to be difficult to hit... When games with multimillion odds of hitting the jackpot are being hit frequently, then we better start asking questions,” Pimentel said.
The senator said a probe is needed for transparency, and it's also a good way to remove people's doubts and better promote the games.
“It’s worth investigating, and the purpose is actually for the PCSO to be more transparent. So that, if we are convinced that there is nothing fishy happening, all the more the players, the population, will patronize the games of PCSO. Yan ang purpose natin," Pimentel said.
One of the reforms that Pimentel is pushing is for a Commission on Audit (COA) representative to be present in the awarding of prizes to prove the legitimacy of winners.
"Para talaga makita natin if there is a real human being behind the announced winner of lotto games,” he said.
He said that during the hearing, math experts can be invited to show the probability of hitting the lotto jackpot in one game and if it matches or is close to the PCSO results.
“I hope the Philippine experience would show that it is consistent with the mathematics behind the design of the lotto games,” he said.
It can be recalled that 433 bettors won the P236-million jackpot in the PCSO’s 6/55 Grand Lotto draw in October last year. PCSO stood by the results, saying that while the occurrence is unusual, it's not impossible, as many bettors are loyal to their number combinations.
— Sally, The Summit Express
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| Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is calling for an investigation on PCSO’s consecutive winnings Photo Courtest: Facebook/ Koko Pimentel |
Pimentel, a mathematician, shared his confusion over the recent jackpot prizes being won consecutively. According to him, the chances of winning the lottery are "1 in every 8 million," and that's just for a small number lotto combination. He said it seems odd that there's a declared winner almost weekly.
"These are games designed by mathematicians to be difficult to hit... When games with multimillion odds of hitting the jackpot are being hit frequently, then we better start asking questions,” Pimentel said.
The senator said a probe is needed for transparency, and it's also a good way to remove people's doubts and better promote the games.
“It’s worth investigating, and the purpose is actually for the PCSO to be more transparent. So that, if we are convinced that there is nothing fishy happening, all the more the players, the population, will patronize the games of PCSO. Yan ang purpose natin," Pimentel said.
One of the reforms that Pimentel is pushing is for a Commission on Audit (COA) representative to be present in the awarding of prizes to prove the legitimacy of winners.
"Para talaga makita natin if there is a real human being behind the announced winner of lotto games,” he said.
He said that during the hearing, math experts can be invited to show the probability of hitting the lotto jackpot in one game and if it matches or is close to the PCSO results.
“I hope the Philippine experience would show that it is consistent with the mathematics behind the design of the lotto games,” he said.
It can be recalled that 433 bettors won the P236-million jackpot in the PCSO’s 6/55 Grand Lotto draw in October last year. PCSO stood by the results, saying that while the occurrence is unusual, it's not impossible, as many bettors are loyal to their number combinations.
— Sally, The Summit Express
