Sweepstakes Office prepares for new legal numbers game

 
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office said operators of the "small town lottery" game can operate until June 30 when it plans to launch its replacement game, Pambansang Loterya ng Bayan (PLB), which will also operate on a local basis. Small town lottery game operators may be given monthly extensions if the PLB is delayed. The small town lottery generated 4 billion pesos ($97.3 million ) in revenue last year though the game has also become entwined with the illegal names game jueteng in many places. The Sweepstakes Office hopes to co-opt customers of jueteng and other illegal numbers games with PLB to generate government revenue and charity funds.