Lorna Huertas, Assistant Secretary of the Lottery Department of Puerto Rico’s Treasury Department, explained to El Vocero that the new Loto Cash game, which replaces Loto Plus, has “better odds” and a “faster, more responsive process”.
Huertas commented that this change is the product of market studies around the Lotería Electrónica in early 2021, which showed that it was necessary to change to a system with better odds for the player and more frequent draws.
The biggest change is the reduction of the jackpot from $2m to $500,000. Although the prize is smaller, it guarantees that the winner can cash the prize in a single transaction.
“Now the draws take place three times a week, starting at $500,000 with no annuities, which makes it more attractive to the customer and gives them more chances to win. In addition, it is delivered in a single payment,” Huertas said.
Additionally, the odds of winning are higher with Loto Cash, as they are 1 in 3.25 million, compared to Loto Plus’ 1 in 9.87 million.
“It’s a new era. It’s [having] the chance of winning more often and faster. It’s a more agile process. We are taking a new step to adapt Loto to the market’s demands,” she said and explained that players want better chances “at winning, and in an easier way,” which is “exactly what Loto Cash offers.”
Furthermore, the Assistant Secretary said that apart from paying the prize to the winner, lotteries make contributions to entities such as the Olympic Committee, the Scholarship Fund, the Problem Gamblers Program, the municipal Equipping Fund and housing subsidies, among others. The surplus is also sent to the general fund of Puerto Rico.
Although it is still early to determine how Loto Cash can help increase revenues since “it’s only been operating for a week,” Huertas said that “at the moment, we continue to increase our revenues with the other games.”
