State-run Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office awarded the P5.8-billion lottery contract to a joint venture company owned by Pacific Online Systems Corp., Philippine Gaming Management Corp., and International Lottery & Totalizator Systems Inc.
Pacific Online said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the joint venture company was named the winning bidder to provide a new PCSO national lottery system for the next five years.
“We are pleased to inform you that in the Bidding conducted for the Procurement of Five (5) Years Lease of the Customized Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Lottery System, also known as ‘2021 PLS Project’ under SBAC Contract No. 2021-01, the special bids and awards committee declared you as the single calculated and responsive bid for the abovementioned Project,” PCSO said in a notice of award to the joint venture.
“The award is therefore made in your favor with a total contract price of [P5.8 billion].”
Pacific Online in March signed a joint venture with PGMC and ILTS to participate in the bidding for PCSO’s five-year lease of customized lottery system called the 2021 PLS Project.
The joint venture is 50-percent owned by Pacific Online, with PGMC owning 49 percent and ILTS having the remaining 1 percent.
Pacific Online and PGMC are equipment lessors to PCSO for the online lottery systems being used for lotto operations throughout the Philippines, while ILTS is the equipment supplier of PGMC.
Pacific Online is PCSO’s operator for lotto in the Visayas and Mindanao, while PGMC is the lotto operator for Luzon.
Pacific Online is 50.1 percent owned by Premium Leisure Corp., while PGMC is owned by Berjaya Group from Malaysia.
Shares of Pacific Online jumped 13.78 percent Monday to close at P2.33.
The joint venture of Pacific Online, PGMC, and ILTs emerged as the single bidder after the PCSO earlier disqualified the joint venture of Philippine United Technic Corp., Digi-Specs IT Corp., and GenLot Game Technology Co. Ltd.
PCSO reported a 58-percent drop in 2020 revenues after it suspended lotto operations amid the imposition of lockdown measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. Revenues fell to P18.63 billion in 2020 from P44.03 billion in 2019.
The state-run gaming company said revenues reached P11.24 billion in the first quarter, or 3 percent short of its collection target of P11.59 billion for the period.