Glitch in Singapore Pools' betting systems: More issues surface from software errors
Some iToto and 4-D Quick Pick bets placed over the phone are the latest to be affected
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Yuen Sin
More issues resulting from software glitches in Singapore Pools' betting systems have surfaced, with the latest affecting some iToto bets and 4-D Quick Pick bets placed over the phone.
In a statement yesterday, Singapore Pools announced details of how affected customers will be compensated for the software errors that have been detected so far.
Between Oct 2, 2018, and Dec 20 last year, iToto bets that were sold to some online and outlet customers had left the number 49 out of the set of random numbers generated in punters' bets, Singapore Pools said.
This made up 0.04 per cent of Toto sales.
During the same period, the numbers zero and nine were also left out of bets that were randomly generated for customers who had placed 4-D Quick Pick bets over the telephone.
Punters who place bets via the Quick Pick option receive a random set of numbers generated by the Singapore Pools system.
An iToto bet is a Quick Pick System 12 entry divided into 28 units. In a System 12 entry, a punter selects 12 numbers between one and 49, which is equivalent to placing 924 ordinary entries.
There were 14 Toto draws that included 49 as a winning number while the system was affected.
Affected Toto customers will get refunds for their bets.
Those with prize winnings in the 14 draws will also receive an additional 50 per cent of their claimed prize winnings, while those with no prize winnings will get a token sum of $5.
In a separate error, Singapore Pools' system had also only generated unique digits for 4-D Quick Pick Roll bets placed over the telephone between Oct 25, 2016, and Jan 22 this year.
This is not the intended logic of the 4-D game, which allows bets containing repeated numbers to be placed.
The same error also affected 4-D Quick Pick Ordinary bets placed on the phone between Oct 2, 2018, and Jan 22 this year. These glitches affected 0.0003 per cent of total 4-D sales.
"Singapore Pools takes responsibility for these incidents," the company said yesterday, adding that the errors have been rectified.
It added that all affected 4-D customers will receive a token sum of $5, on top of getting refunds for their bets.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which regulates gambling in Singapore, said it takes a serious view of the errors and is currently investigating them.
This announcement comes after Singapore Pools revealed last month that its online Toto Quick Pick system and Quick Pick System Roll had been affected by two software glitches - the first time this had happened in Singapore.
These glitches were reported to the MHA and have been rectified.
Singapore Pools added that it will be topping up the Group 5, Group 6 and Group 7 prizes by more than $500,000 for an upcoming Toto draw this month as a "goodwill gesture".
The Tote Board, which oversees Singapore Pools, said yesterday that a review panel that was set up to review the causes of the glitches, among other things, has started its work.
