PCSO defers lotto ticket price hike

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has postponed the scheduled price increase of lotto tickets to July 23.

PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan said the price increase, initially scheduled last July 8, was postponed to enable system providers to update their respective systems.

He said the Pacific Online Systems Corp. (POSC), which operates PCSO’s lottery systems in Visayas and Mindanao, requested two weeks to update their systems to reflect the price increase.

PCSO assistant general manager for gaming Arnel Casas said he recommended the postponement of the implementation of lotto ticket price increase upon the receipt of the letter from POSC.

“This is in compliance to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law,” added Casas.

Balutan earlier said that the agency has no option but to abide by the law and increase its ticket prices, including for Lotto (P20 to P24), Digit Games and Keno (P10 to P12) and Sweepstakes (P5 to P6).

Since January, all PCSO lotto prizes above P10,000 are taxed 20 percent in compliance with the TRAIN law.