The illegal numbers game in the Philippine continues to burn a big hole in the Philippine lottery agency’s pockets.

BusinessMirror reported that the small town lottery (STL) operated by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) posted an estimated 30 percent loss of its earnings as it faces stiff competition from the illegal numbers game that the locals called “jueteng.”

At present, PCSO spokesman Florante Solmerin accounted that the agency reaps P1.1 billion ($21.36 million) from its STL operations every month. It could have been bigger, according to Solmerin, if not for the perennial problem on jueteng.

He said the unrealized income of STL could have been 30 percent more than the P1.1 billion it is presently earning sans the problem of the illegal numbers game.