Loterie Romande was alerted on Monday afternoon of unusual bets on its Joker game, whose particularly high jackpot is currently 2.6 million francs. Seizure, the intercantonal gambling monitoring authority is carrying out an investigation.
“Our alert system informed us of unusual issues in the canton of Geneva on the Joker game,” said Danielle Perrette, spokesperson for Loterie Romande, on Wednesday, confirming information from the Geneva Tribune and of 24 Hours. For the moment, the Joker game is only available online, no longer at tobacconists.
Only bets associated with filling a Swiss Loto grid are still possible “on the ground”. The draw, for its part, will take place on Wednesday evening normally, underlined Danielle Perrette. The Joker, at 2 francs the bet, consists of finding a combination of 6 numbers drawn at random. There are a million possibilities.
La Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures reported testimonies from several tobacco shop managers. They said they saw young people arriving who clearly had the desire to play as many combinations as possible. A tobacconist noted having received stakes worth 80,000 francs in two days.
Alerted by these unusual bets, Loterie Romande immediately notified the intercantonal gambling monitoring authority (Gespa) so that it could investigate. An approach that is not common. The investigation is ongoing and Loterie Romande does not know when it will be concluded.
In compliance with the law?
For the general director of Loterie Romande Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, the players have not found a flaw in the game. “There is neither infallible method nor exceptional mathematical talent. It is simply the observation that it There are a million possible combinations in the Joker game. If you manage to play all of these combinations, for two francs each – a total investment of 2 million francs – you are guaranteed to win the jackpot. , he explains.
Why is this a problem? “It is essential, from our point of view, that everything is carried out in a safe, transparent and fair manner for all participants, while respecting the legislative texts, in particular the law on gambling, ordinances and the rules of the game”, he explains, specifying that this situation is very unusual for Loterie Romande and even at the global level.
He concludes by reminding the “serial players” – who will know this Wednesday evening if they have won – that, even if the right combination is found, “there is a probability that two, three or four winners will share the first prize”.
ats/fgn
Swiss
