A freakish result

Social media channels in the Philippines are on overdrive after a freakish lottery result in which 433 people picked the six winning numbers.

?236m ($4m) 6/55 Grand Lotto draw

The state-run Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) announced the multiple winners of its ?236m ($4m) 6/55 Grand Lotto draw on Saturday. ABS-CBN data analytics exec Edson Guido took to Twitter to detail the slim chances of picking six correct numbers:

Given the sky-high odds of such an outcome, it’s no wonder Filipinos are questioning whether the lottery result was a total coincidence or a smart conspiracy.

All lined up

The 433 bettors who correctly guessed the winning 09-45-36-27-18-54 sequence will have to share the $4m. Each will pocket ?545,245?($9,244) minus 20% in tax. Meanwhile, the 331 people who picked five correct numbers get ?100,000 ($1,695), and the 2,491 bettors who selected four correct digits will get ?1,500 ($25).

In a bizarre twist of fate, all six winning lottery numbers were multiples of nine and formed a straight diagonal line on the ticket as a result. Twitter user @brentiusiacomus shared an image of a winning ticket, while questioning the improbability of the result:

Differing reactions

On Sunday, Philippine Senate Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said his party would file a resolution calling for an investigation. Pimentel said:

having two winners was “bihira na” (already rare).

The opposition leader deemed it necessary to “maintain and protect the integrity of these gambling games” because they are state run.

In contrast, PCSO vice-chair and GM Melquiades Robles has defended the game. According to the Philippine government’s official online news service, PNA, Robles assured all Filipinos that “the conduct and result of every draw is very transparent and of utmost integrity.” Analyst Guido shared his further comments via Twitter: