A senate investigation has started in the Philippines after more than 400 people won the Grand lotto last week. The suspicion arose when about 433 people went to The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes office on Monday to claim their prize.

Participants had to select six numbers between 1 to 55 and to win the jackpot, the participants had to select exactly those six numbers that were drawn by the lottery operator. It is revealed that all the numbers were multiple of nine, and 433 people managed to get the exact results as the lottery operator and thus won the lottery prize.

The huge crowd of people that came to collect their jackpot reward after the winning combinations of numbers were announced rose suspicion among the government officials and the county media, with everyone covering the story.

Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Philippines senate minority leader, asked to conduct an inquiry about how more than 400 people got the exact same lottery number coincidentally, while Melquiades Robles, general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), said that the lottery could not have been rigged.

Koko also said, “These lotto games are authorized by the Republic of the Philippines. Therefore, we need to maintain and protect the integrity of these gambling games,” commenting on the winning of 433 people. Since all those people won the lottery, they must equally divide the prize money of 263 million pesos (about 4 million USD) among everyone.

The only feasible explanation for everyone winning the lottery is that someone bet on a number sequence and shared that with everyone, and the sequence was the winning number. Robles, in a press conference, also explained how people have tended to bet on number sequences in the hope of winning and saying, “Many have held onto their numbers. It’s not only good to be loyal to your wives and husbands, it’s also good to be loyal to your number”.