The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Monday said it has launched its brand-new Philippine Lottery System (PLS), which is expected to enhance the operations of the government’s lottery games.

PCSO general manager Mel Robles and other agency officials, together with representatives from the Commission on Audit, witnessed the transition from the old lottery system to the state-of-the-art PLS at its command center at the PCSO Conservatory Building in Mandaluyong City on Sunday.

Robles said the PLS would bring a wide range of benefits such as the centralization of sales reports, generation of winning numbers, and more accessible validation of tickets which would lead to improved efficiency and transparency for both the PCSO and lottery players.

“The Philippine Lottery System Project is a testament to our commitment to innovation and providing the best experience for our valued customers… All lottery operations are now seamlessly integrated into a unified platform,” he added.

For the past two decades, the PCSO has used two separate lottery systems nationwide for its lotto outlet’s ticket-selling operations — the Philippine Gaming and Management Corporation (PGMC) system for Luzon and the Pacific Online Systems Corporation (POSC) system for Visayas and Mindanao.

Though the agency’s plan to install a centralized lottery system has been in the works for around a decade, it was stalled due to numerous unforeseen circumstances and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The PHP5.6 billion project was initiated by the previous administration of the PCSO and underwent public bidding.

The winning bidder was granted a Notice to Proceed on Dec. 6, 2021, and was initially given 14 months to implement the PLS. It was granted an extension of eight more months to complete manufacturing processes amid supply chain problems because of the pandemic.

Now, the PLS enables the PCSO to efficiently generate draw results which lead to quicker announcements of jackpot winners and their respective locations.

Through the system, the agency can also conduct more advanced draws.

The new lottery system has been certified to comply with the World Lottery Association security control standards (WLA-SCS), including the ISO 27001 standards, ensuring the system’s integrity and security. (PNA)