PCSO Lottery Draw

PCSO Lottery Draw (formerly Philippine Lotto Draw and Philippine Lottery Draw) is a Philippine television game show broadcast by PTV/NBN, IBC and D8TV (BEAM) under the joint venture between PCSO, IBC and Digital8. The show aired daily (except on National Election Day, and during the Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday holiday period), it aired originally on PTV/NBN from March 8, 1995 to July 27, 2019 and again from July 31, 2019 to December 30, 2024. The show moved to IBC and D8TV since December 31, 2024. The program's production involving the PCSO workforce consisting of more than 2,000 employees. The program consists of the drawing of both the parimutuel and fixed payout lottery games and the sweepstakes games. On November 15, 2017, it added the centralized draws of the Small Town Lottery (Pares, Swer3 and Swer2) for the provinces that did not conduct their own local STL draws.
The program is also simulcast over DWAN 1206 AM, Brigada News FM stations and PCSO and IBC's websites, Facebook pages and YouTube accounts. The show formerly aired on DWWW, DZRB, DZRH, DWIZ, DZME and DZIQ.
The program was launched on March 8, 1995, under the title Philippine Lotto Draw, with original hosts Tina Revilla, Kathy De Leon-Villar and various other hosts (including Timmy Cruz) until September 2004.
In 2013, the program changed its name to Philippine Lottery Draw.
Since 2016, the show has been known as the PCSO Lottery Draw.
On October 27, 2019, the program launched a new segment called "Handog Pasasalamat sa Pamilyang Pilipino", as part of the 85th-anniversary celebration of the PCSO. In the segment, five families from a selected barangay would receive various items, such as groceries, as well as cash prizes from a sponsor usually associated with the PCSO. The segment is hosted by one of the main hosts and either guest co-host Dennis Padilla or Gary Lim. It is held every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
In October 2022, 433 people struck the jackpot in a single draw day, which became the highest number of people to win the Grand Lotto's top prize. This prompted suspicion among many, including statistics experts.
By November 18, 2023, all previous hosts of the program resigned and were replaced by a new set of hosts consisted of beauty queens, TV hosts and social media personalities.
Before every draw, a clip is aired showing the inspection earlier in the day of the blowing machines, called "Mega Gems", and the balls to be used for each game. The inspections are done to ensure fairness and that nothing is concealed in the machines and balls for the draw day. The inspection is undertaken by a panel of judges, composed of a neutral set of people not connected with the PCSO. Representatives from the Commission on Audit oversee both these proceedings and the draw itself to see to it that everything goes according to protocol. The pre-draw procedure is as follows:
Each Mega Gem, depending on the type of game, is operated by automation. The Mega Gem loads the balls from the loading bays to the draw chamber, after which the blower starts to mix the balls. In the number lottery games (excluding the Power Lotto), the machine draws six numbered balls one at a time, with each ball inserted into the inner left loading bay. In machines used in the 2D Lotto and the digit lottery games, each number/digit in the combination is drawn from its own chamber. Once a ball is drawn, it is locked into place by slats placed over the pipe leading from the drawing chamber. Once the necessary number of balls has been picked, the Mega Gem is turned off.
The Mega Gem used in the Power Lotto (mentioned below) is a compound version of the two types of Mega Gems mentioned above. The chamber that draws the main five numbers has its ball-loading bays placed at the back but has a separate tube where the five drawn number balls are directed. It is operated the same way as the Mega Gem used in the other number lottery games. The chamber that draws the power number is the same one used in the 6D Lotto draw. The first chamber is first turned on to draw the five main numbers. Afterwards, the first chamber is turned off and the second chamber is then switched on to draw the power number. After the power number has been drawn, the entire machine is turned off.
Balls typically have numbers all over their outer edges. The numbers on balls used in number lottery games (except the 2D Lotto) are read on the spot without the need to touch the balls. In the digit lottery games and the 2D Lotto with top drawing Mega Gems, the balls used to be adjusted to clearly show the numbers drawn. Because of the nature of the Power Lotto Mega Gem, each of the methods mentioned were applied to each of the machine's two chambers.
However, since the launch of Bingo Milyonaryo in 2013, the balls are no longer adjusted. Instead, the numbers on the balls are read on the spot by the host. This applies to all games.
The PCSO Lottery Draw currently hosts a total of nine games, each with its own combinations and mechanics of play.
The number lottery games are:
There are also three-digit lottery games. Unlike the number lottery games, the digits must appear in "exact order", i.e. in the order of the numbered chambers from which each digit is drawn:
A multitude of websites have also been created and are updated regularly after the morning, afternoon, and evening draws are recorded. Most of these websites also try to compile and pseudo-analyze results based on prevailing results and techniques used by bettors in the game—this despite the results having been randomly drawn.
From November 15, 2017, to March 17, 2020 (11 AM), centralized Small Town Lottery games were added to the show. The results of these draws were for provinces that did not have a local franchise of STL. The Small Town Lottery games are also held three times daily. Originally, the centralized Small Town Lottery was held every 11 AM, 4 PM, and 9 PM. The Small Town Lottery ceased conducting a centralized draw. Instead, it conducts a localized draw, with separate games for Visayas and Mindanao only (every 10:30 AM, 3 PM, and 7 PM).
As of September 2023, the Small Town Lottery Authorized Agent Corporations (AAC) listed some areas from Visayas and Mindanao will be used for the National Draw Results for their operations.
On July 27, 2019, the program was put on temporary hiatus following a verbal order from President Rodrigo Duterte to suspend all gambling-related operations of PCSO along with the MTRCB's Live on PTV 4, due to corruption allegations. However, the program was partially resumed on July 31 when the suspension of the lotto games was lifted by the President. The Small Town Lottery remained suspended until August 22, 2019.
On March 17, 2020, the program was put into temporary hiatus for the second time, as PCSO gaming operations and small-town lotteries in Luzon (later expanded to Visayas and Mindanao on April 7) were suspended following the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. The program once again partially resumed on July 20, 2020, to hold catch-up draws for all tickets sold prior to the suspension of the gaming operations during the enhanced community quarantine. The program fully resumed, along with PCSO's lotto operations, on August 7 (originally scheduled on August 4) in areas already under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), The Small Town Lottery, among other games, remained suspended.
On July 30, 2022, the program was reformatted into a better and more organized version that included the following segments: Usapang STL, What You Should Know, Charity in Action, PCSO News Blitz, and Recap Time.
On October 1, 2023, the program was relaunched with a "Love The Philippines" inspired theme, in partnership with the Department of Tourism.
On November 18, 2023, the hosts went into a transition, from PCSO employees, to beauty queens, artists, and social media personalities.
On February 19, 2024, the program reformats its Jackpot Games. For every draw of the jackpot-bearing games, PCSO's data center conducts the encoding of winning numbers and updating jackpot winners from the Remote Access Management Terminal or RAMT based on the new Lottery System and E-Lotto.
On December 31, 2024, PCSO Lottery Draw started airing live on IBC and D8TV.