Pacific Online and HHR Philippines mutually agreed to revisit and unwind their investment deal, a stock exchange filing on Thursday showed.
The stake, originally purchased for P150 million in January 2025, will be sold to a “third party investor agreeing to assume the rights and obligations of the company from its HHRPI investment.”
Why the pullout?
Online gambling has proven to be a lucrative segment, although fortunes have faded somewhat since the government crackdown calling for tighter controls over the past six months.
It comes a day after Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chief Alejandro Tengco said during a Senate hearing they would consider heightened regulations on online gambling, which include banning ads and stricter player authentication.
But an insider had also indicated the SM Group leadership was growing cautious about entering the segment. SM is a shareholder of Ocier-led Belle Corp., which owns Pacific Online.
In its filing, Pacific Online said it was exiting “because of the firm policy adopted by the national government against the licensing of online betting platforms.”
While rules are being tightened, Pagcor has not indicated any firm policy against online gambling.
Sale will have no significant impact
Just a year ago, Pacific Online was more bullish on this investment, which came in the wake of the rise of DigiPlus Interactive, the country’s largest online gambling platform.
“The gaming platform that powers Buenas is among the best in the industry and is currently in the process of integrating with the industry’s biggest payment platforms,” Ocier, also a director at DigiPlus, had previously told InsiderPH.
It just shows how fast shifts can happen when regulatory winds change.
For its part, Pacific Online, which trades under the stock symbol LOTO, said HHR Philippines is still in an early operation stage.
“The unwinding of LOTO’s investment in the company is not expected to have any significant impact on LOTO’s financials,” it said on Thursday.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
