PCSO wages war versus ‘masiao’

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has virtually declared an all-out war against masiao, a popular illegal numbers game in the Visayas and Mindanao, with the launch of the daily "suertes lotto" where one, for a P10 bet, can win P4,500 for a three-digit combination.

Condrado Zabella, PCSO assistant general manager for the online lotto sector, cited reports that suertes lotto is becoming popular in the South, particularly in Cebu, the reported nerve center of masiao operations.

Zabella said masiao operators, which used to base their winning number combinations on jai alai games in Manila, have resorted to rigging the results of the illegal numbers game after the government stopped jai alai.

He said masiao operators cannot use the results of the three-digit suertes lotto because they have no control of its draws and will incur huge losses if they do so.

"With the introduction of the suertes (lotto), players can now watch the draws live on television," he said.

The suertes lotto has all the features of the masiao, except that the winning number combinations are drawn in a tambiolo.

The game also offers the so-called "rumble" where the player has the chance to win even if his three numbers are not in the proper order.

Zabella said they are planning to introduce the three-digit suertes lotto in Luzon if it succeeds in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The launch of the three-digit lotto game is the second time the government has introduced a legal numbers game to counter illegal gambling in various parts of the country.

During the short-lived term of deposed President Estrada, the government, through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), introduced the so-called "2 balls" which was to replicate jueteng in Luzon.

The "2 balls," however, did not prosper after Atong Ang, a close friend of Estrada, clashed with former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson over the grant of the "2 balls" franchise in the Ilocos region.

The feud led to Singson implicating Estrada in jueteng payoffs which, among other alleged anomalies, resulted in the former president’s impeachment and subsequent downfall.