Ocier’s Pacific Online nets P150 million from Buenas PH exit

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May 2, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Listed Pacific Online Systems Corp., chaired by businessman Willy Ocier, raised around P150 million after unwinding its investment in HHR Philippines Inc. (HHRPI), the operator of the online gaming platform Buenas PH.

Ocier described the deal as simply “returning the money to each other,” with “no loss and no gain.”

“We invested, and then we changed our minds,” he told The STAR.

Pacific Online, a subsidiary of  SM Group’s Belle Corp., disclosed in January 2025 that it would acquire a 37.5 percent stake in HHRPI.

However, the company announced in February that it was stepping away from the online gambling business, including its divestment from HHRPI, citing “the firm policy adopted by the national government against the licensing of online betting platforms.”

Pacific Online said the company and HHRPI have mutually agreed to revisit their investment arrangement and unwind the same, with a private third-party investor agreeing to assume the rights and obligations of the company from its HHRPI investment.

“With this unwinding, the company will cease to be a shareholder of record of HHRPI as soon as certain regulatory compliances are complied with,” it said.

HHRPI, a Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.-licensed provider of electronic gaming software and professional services, is still in the early operation stage.

Early this year, Buenas PH announced its partnership with the country’s influential gaming personalities, with the collaboration aimed at championing the protection of the Filipino gaming community by setting a new benchmark for creator responsibility and viewer safety in the rapidly evolving iGaming sector.

Pacific Online, for its part, is engaged in the development and management of online computer systems, terminals and software for the country’s lottery industry.

The company earlier said it will also discontinue its electronic lotto, or “e-lotto,” project with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), a P4.09-billion, five-year contract awarded in 2024 for the lease of a web-based app for the e-lotto system.

“Subsequent to the issuance of the notice of award, as an offshoot of the controversies that arose involving other online gaming variants like e-sabong and the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations or POGO, the national government eventually adopted a firm policy against the continuation of the licensing of all forms of online betting platforms,” Pacific Online said.

“With this reversal in policy, the implementation of PCSO’s e-Lotto was placed on a prolonged suspended animation,” it said.

In light of these developments and recognizing that the national government’s policy will no longer be reversed, Pacific Online said its board has ordered that its involvement in e-lotto be unwound.