PCSO rolls out digital transformation

MANILA, Philippines — This year was a period of digital transformation for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) as it successfully rolled out the Philippine Lottery System (PLS), which upgraded the country’s almost 30-year-old lottery systems and technology.

The PCSO was also able to squeak out the one-year test run of their web-based lotto betting system or the “e-lotto” platform on Dec. 15, finally pushing lotto games into the Internet age.

The launch of the e-lotto web-based platform allows players and bettors to place bets and buy lotto e-tickets through their computers or laptops and pay through GCash e-wallets.

Melquiades Robles, PCSO general manager and vice chairman of the board, said they were excited about the game-changing potential of the e-lotto betting platform to boost the agency’s revenues, especially in 2024.

Robles said the online platform’s accessibility will attract more players in the country as well as millions of Filipinos working overseas who can play lotto games from wherever they are.

One of the key advantages of e-lotto is its ability to curb the proliferation of illicit online number games and ensure that revenue is remitted to government coffers and a part goes to the PCSO charity fund programs.

The e-lotto application may be downloaded on both Google Play and iOS platforms in 2024.

Payment methods were initially through GCash but negotiations are underway to introduce additional third-party gateway payments such as banks and other e-wallets.

The registration process has multiple layers of identity verification, making it significantly challenging for minors to bypass the system.

The system can also suspend and perpetually block an account if any misrepresentation is found on the player’s part.

Robles said that the successful rollout of the PLS on Oct. 1 had improved efficiency and sped up the lotto ticket-selling process at outlets nationwide.

“After more than 25 years of the lotto games, we have finally upgraded our lotto systems with the PLS,” Robles told The STAR.

“We have fewer terminals but bigger sales. We’re hitting almost double our sales,” he added.

Before the PLS rollout, the PCSO used two separate lottery