Lotto Fair

The History of Lotto in the Philippines

In the Philippines, there have been countless debates on whether or not Lotto is treading on the boundaries of morality, since it is a legalized form of gambling.

These arguments arose in the late eighties after the government allowed laws on institutionalizing nationwide lotto. Before that, there is a nationwide gambling past time called Jueteng. It is an illegal numbers game which allows its patrons to bet at least one peso (around US$ 0.02) and pick their lucky numbers. The odds are about one in six hundred, and since the minimum bet is very affordable, it has become a favorite of the poor folks in the provinces.

The government took a lot of criticisms from the media for tolerating this numbers game, which a lot of people dismiss as a victimless crime. The general sentiment is that nobody gets hurt betting a few pesos from time to time, if they're lucky, well and good, if they don't win, what's one peso anyway? To make a long story short, the government caved in and cracked down on Jueteng and its benefactors. The result was a mix of boredom, confusion and a little anger. For the poor folks who look to this game as entertainment as well as a chance to earn a few bucks the easy way, the government totally overreacted to the critics. The government however, had an ace up its sleeve.

They introduced lotto. A nationwide lottery that would be accessible to virtually everyone in the country. A ticket does cost more than Jueteng's measly peso and the odds may be totally overwhelming, but the grand prizes are enough to lure even celebrities earning way too much than they deserve. A ten peso winning ticket could amount anywhere from one million to one hundred fifty million pesos (a little over three million US dollars), that's a lot of money for anybody.

Lotto became an instant hit especially with the masses. Loyal patrons of Jueteng couldn't get enough of it. Of course everybody knows that their chance of winning the jackpot is minute at best, but, as they say, dreaming is free so dream big. The bigger the jackpot got, the more people patronized the lottery. Once, when the top prize got to a hundred and fifty million pesos, I saw queues a quarter of a mile long. I'm not kidding. That's how popular it got.

The popularity of lottery in the Philippines may also be attributed to poverty, but that's a whole new different story. Lotto continues to be successful in this country, and since it is legal gambling, its supporters now don't fear another crackdown on their beloved pastime.