DigiPlus eyes rebound after e-wallet delinking blow

DigiPlus Interactive Corp. is targeting a late-year recovery after the e-wallet delinking order disrupted its core payment channels and weighed on growth.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, DigiPlus President Andy Tsui said the company remains in a “recovery stage” following tighter oversight on online gaming, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas directive to delink e-wallets from gaming platforms in August last year.

“The delinking actually happens in mid-August. We saw a steady recovery over the last six months. So again, we are still in the recovery stage. We will probably see, I would say, full recovery towards maybe the third or fourth quarter of this year,” Tsui said.

The disruption forced DigiPlus to rebuild its payments ecosystem while refocusing on higher-value users. More than half of its users have already shifted to its proprietary platform, a transition the company expects to accelerate.

To offset the loss of seamless e-wallet integration, DigiPlus expanded its payment channels, including a partnership with Bayad Center and its network of about 800 outlets nationwide.

“We are just providing more options to the players. Besides that, the online payment. We added a buyer center last year, to make it more convenient for the player to deposit the money. There's no change even after the linking,” Tsui said.

The strategy helped cushion the impact of the regulatory shift. DigiPlus posted a net income of P12.5 billion last year, flat year-on-year, as strong first-half earnings tempered the second-half slowdown.

Revenues rose 12 percent to P84.2 billion from P75.2 billion in 2024, while EBITDA grew 2 percent to P14.2 billion.

DigiPlus said it is also positioning itself for a more tightly regulated industry and has signaled support for stricter rules that could reshape the competitive landscape.

The company said it is part of a technical working group with the Senate and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to help draft legislation aimed at improving consumer protection and industry transparency, as regulators step up oversight of the sector.

DigiPlus said the proposed framework will introduce tighter controls on payment channels and marketing, raising compliance standards across the industry. It added that, as a licensed online gaming operator, it continues to support collaboration with government in pushing for higher industry standards.

"As a licensed and leading online gaming operator, we continue to welcome collaboration and active participation in discussions with the Philippine government to achieve our shared goal of raising the standards of the industry," DigiPlus chairman Eusebio Tanco said.

Tanco said DigiPlus is continuing to invest in technology and safeguards to promote responsible gaming, as stricter rules take hold.