Philippines ‘strange’ lottery jackpot that saw 433 winners split US$4 million
- All winning numbers were multiples of 9, which is rare ‘for any single lottery’ according to a maths professor
- Aquilino Pimentel III, the Philippines’ senate minority leader, has asked for a probe into the draw
Government officials in the Philippines are calling for a probe into a Grand Lotto outcome that saw hundreds of people win a jackpot worth 236 million peso, or around US$4 million.
Participants in the Grand Lotto select six numbers ranging from one to 55, and all six numbers have to match those drawn by the lottery operator.
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, the lottery organisers, announced that 433 people had won the lottery held on October 1. Each of the winners is set to win nearly US$10,000.
All winning numbers were multiples of nine: nine, 18, 27, 36, 45, and 54.
“I’ve always been betting on the pattern 9, pattern 8, pattern 7 and pattern 6 for many years, and I am thankful that this time, I won,” one unnamed winner who was interviewed by the lottery agency said.
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But Terence Tao, a maths professor from the University of California, Los Angeles, said that this pattern of winning numbers is rare “for any single lottery”.
The outcome also drew scepticism from government officials. Aquilino Pimentel III, the Philippines’ senate minority leader, asked for a probe into the draw and described the event as “strange and unusual”.
“These lotto games are authorised by the Republic of the Philippines. Therefore, we need to maintain and protect the integrity of these gambling games.”
Lottery officials were quick to defend the results. Melquiades Robles, the general manager of the sweepstakes office, told Bloomberg there was nothing irregular with the results. People tend to cling to their chosen numbers and bet on the same combinations over and over, he added.
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The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office declined a request to comment.
The news also caused a stir on social media. One person took to Twitter to comment on the odds. “1 bettor has a 1-in-40 million chance of winning. 433 bettors just beat those odds,” tweeted one.
Others weighed in with disbelief. An op-ed columnist at the Phil Biz News tweeted on the matter, saying: “What a joke – just like the jokes running the organisation”, wrote another.
“Was it just Chance or Intentional?” questioned one person in a series of tweets on October 4.
