Can child bettors win in online Lotto app? House hearing provides answer
At A Glance
- The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office's (PCSO) online Lotto app will have a feature that would prevent child or minor bettors from claiming their prizes, House members learned.
(PCSO)
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office's (PCSO) online Lotto app will have a feature that would prevent child or minor bettors from claiming their prizes, should they win a lottery draw.
PCSO Assistant General Manager Arnel Casas made this assurance to congressmen Tuesday, Sept 12 after some of them expressed concerns that kids might turn into bettors through the soon-to-be-launched Lotto app.
Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo, the presiding officer of Tuesday's House Committee on Appropriations hearing on the 2024 budget of PCSO, asked the charity agency how it plans to deter minors from betting.
“We have this what we call the KYC-- Know Your Client," Casas said, referring to a registration system.
"This guarantees that no minors will be able to register or place a bet using the web-based application of the PCSO,” he said.
According to Casas, the potential Lotto app players will be required to present a valid government identification (ID) card during registration.
But Surigao del Norte 1st district Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas noted that online registration isn't 100 percent fool-proof, as he cited a report saying that the picture of a monkey was used during the recent mass-SIM registration.
Casas said that a minor will not be able to claim the prize in the event he or she wins the Lotto draw, since "physical verification will be needed".
The PCSO told the House panel that the Lotto app will undergo testing before month's end.
The agency officials said the Lotto app is meant for the "Class A and B" bettors who can't or don't want to go to physical Lotto outlets