PGMC to sue over loss of exclusive

 
Philippine Gaming and Management Corp., a subsidiary of the Philippine arm (PM:BCOR) of Malaysia's Berjaya Corp., said it plans to sue the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office for allowing a rival company to install lottery terminals in Luzon. PGMC argues the move violated its rights to an exclusive hold on the country's largest island. PGMC has 3,900 terminals in Luzon while rival Pacific Online Systems Corp. (PM:LOTO) has installed 700. PGMC also protested the Sweepstakes Office's move to renew Pacific Online's supply agreement for Visayas and Mindanao without seeking competitive bids. The Sweepstake Office has been pressuring the machine suppliers to reduce their cut of lottery receipts and Pacific Online has been more accommodating than PGMC. The office maintains that PGMC never had a formal exclusive to Luzon.