Grand Lotto in the Philippines Under Fire After 433 Winners

  • The Grand Lotto of the Philippines had 433 players win the lottery on Oct. 1.
  • That suspiciously large number of winners has caused a lot of controversy within the online gambling community.

MANILA, Philippines – The Grand Lotto of the Philippines is under fire after 433 people won their Oct. 1 drawing of about $4 million.

Broken down by winner, each player takes home about $9,300 before any taxes are taken out of their winnings.

Suspicion Around the Grand Lotto

If 433 players won an online lottery game in the United States, there would likely be some outrage.

Considering the Philippines has a population of roughly one-third that of the United States, outrage is warranted.

Based on the New York Times report, the sheer volume of winners is not the only cause for concern surrounding that drawing, with two specific reasons sticking out:

  • The winning combination of the Grand Lotto’s Oct. 1 drawing was made up of six numbers that were multiples of nine: 09-45-36-27-18-54.
  • Multiple officials of the Grand Lotto’s governing body, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, have prior records of bribery.

Filipino leaders within the country’s governing bodies of Congress agree as multiple agencies will now investigate the matter.

The investigation is warranted, especially when broken down based on the mathematical probability that was broken down by Dr. Guido David, the University of Philippines Professor of Mathematics:

With the probability of 433 winners all picking the same six numbers so low that letters are getting involved, it may be to stick to the trusted online gambling sites.