SINGAPORE — Punters who bought certain Toto tickets since October 2018 are set to be refunded by Singapore Pools, which said on Wednesday (Jan 15) that it had recently uncovered two software glitches and numbers on some tickets were not correctly generated.

The glitches affected only Toto Quick Pick customers who placed bets via remote platforms such as the internet, mobile application and telephone. Those who placed bets at Singapore Pools’ outlets in person were not affected.

In its statement, Singapore Pools did not state how many punters were likely to have been affected. However, it said that they amounted to an estimated 3 per cent of total Toto sales.

In a separate statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday that it had been notified of the glitches by Singapore Pools, that it “takes a very serious view of these errors” and was conducting investigations.

In another statement, the Tote Board, a statutory board which oversees Singapore Pools, said that it would set up a review panel chaired by its chairman Moses Lee  “to review the causes of the incident, how it was managed and measures to prevent future recurrence”.

Singapore Pools said that a system update by a service vendor on Oct 2, 2018 caused the glitches, which have now been rectified.

WHAT HAPPENED

MHA was alerted on Jan 3, 2020 to the software error in the generation of the Toto Quick Pick numbers bought via remote platforms between Oct 2, 2018 and Dec 21, 2019.

Punters who place their bets using the Quick Pick option allow the Singapore Pools’ computer system to pick the numbers for them.

The software error resulted in the system excluding the number “49” and selecting only numbers from “1” to “48” when generating Quick Pick numbers for customers who had placed bets via the remote platforms. 

In Toto, punters choose at least six numbers between “1” and “49” for a minimum outlay of S$1.

Singapore Pools said that it “will provide remediation to its affected customers by refunding them the bets they had placed in the 14 draws where the number ‘49’ was drawn as a winning number”, adding that it will provide “a goodwill token” to customers who may have missed out on potential winnings in the 14 draws.

It added that it was working out the details, and would be reaching out to affected customers.

In its media release, MHA said that Singapore Pools was first alerted to the error on Dec 18, 2019. The problem was then resolved three days later.

HOW THE SECOND GLITCH WAS UNCOVERED

Then on Jan 10 this year, Singapore Pools alerted MHA to a second issue concerning its remote platforms.

While resolving the error involving the Quick Pick number generation which had been identified previously, the company uncovered an error in the generation of the Toto Quick Pick System Roll numbers bought via the remote platforms since Oct 2, 2018.

The system ought to have randomly generated six numbers and then assigned “R” in place of one of the six generated numbers, where “R” would represent any of the remaining 44 numbers.

However, the system replaced the largest of the six generated numbers with “R” instead.

MHA said: “After receiving the service provider’s confirmation on Jan 12, 2020 that it was indeed an error, Singapore Pools rectified the error on Jan 13, 2020.”

POSSIBLE SANCTIONS IN PLACE

The ministry added that regulatory sanctions under the Remote Gambling Act may be imposed on Singapore Pools if a breach of the conditions of exemption is determined.

“Such sanctions may include a censure, variation of the conditions of exemption, and the imposition of a financial penalty,” it said.

MHA has directed Singapore Pools to take all necessary measures to ensure the integrity of the betting system, and to prevent a recurrence of these issues.