DigiPlus partners with Bayad Center after e-wallet ban

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2025/08/20: Philippine senator calls for stricter enforcement of e-wallet directive 2025/05/06: DigiPlus Interactive launches global hub in Singapore 2025/07/28: DigiPlus global expansion continues with South Africa launch 2025/08/18: Philippine online gambling operators find ways round e-wallet restrictions

The Backstory

Why payments sit at the center of the shake-up

The current move by DigiPlus Interactive to add Bayad Center as a cash-in partner traces back to a regulatory squeeze that cut off the company and its rivals from the country’s dominant e-wallet rails. After the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered wallet providers to delink gambling payment features, operators saw traffic and deposits rerouted almost overnight. DigiPlus responded by securing Bayad’s over-the-counter network for its BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone platforms, giving customers cash-in access at hundreds of branches and affiliated outlets nationwide, with phased cash-outs to follow. The pivot, disclosed in DigiPlus partners with Bayad Center after e-wallet ban, underscores how payment pathways have become the main pressure point for regulators seeking to rein in online gambling access.

Bayad, a Meralco subsidiary accredited as an electronic money issuer, gives DigiPlus an alternative to the super-app wallets that had become embedded in daily transactions. By moving deposits into a physical network, DigiPlus is betting it can preserve liquidity and player convenience while staying compliant. The company is also signaling it will layer new options over time, widening the funnel after the abrupt loss of direct e-wallet links.

From delinking orders to workarounds and a political backlash

The central bank’s directive in mid-August asked wallet providers to remove gambling-related features within 48 hours. Leading players GCash and Maya complied, but operators quickly experimented with indirect pathways, including messaging and e-commerce platforms, to restore payment flows. That prompted a public rebuke from lawmakers. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian urged regulators to enforce a full and permanent disconnect between e-wallets and gambling operators and to police workarounds across apps such as Viber, Telegram and Lazada, according to Philippine senator calls for stricter enforcement of e-wallet directive.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement, praised wallet providers for delinking but warned the effort was “far from over,” calling out how certain operators tried to sustain access via alternative platforms. The dynamic was laid bare in Philippine online gambling operators find ways round e-wallet restrictions, which detailed how operators shifted to new channels within days and noted a large number of illegal gambling sites that remained online even as thousands were taken down. The message from legislators: enforcement must span the broader payments and app ecosystem, not just the most popular wallets.

Revenue shock forces regulators to recalibrate

The quick hit to payments had a measurable impact on the state’s take. PAGCOR reported a 40% to 50% drop in income in the first two weeks after the delinking order, an early sign of how sensitive the market is to changes in payment accessibility. The regulator shared the figures at a Senate hearing and said it would roll out an AI tool to flag illegal sites for coordinated blocking with other agencies, per PAGCOR reports 50% income fall after removal of e-wallet payment links.

The regulator’s stance has been to favor stricter oversight over a blanket ban, while the central bank deferred to Congress on whether to legislate a broader prohibition or reinforce targeted controls. For industry players, the signal is mixed: revenues tied to seamless digital payments can surge or sink on policy changes, yet there remains room to operate under clearer compliance parameters. For the government, the trade-off involves curbing social harms without driving more activity into unregulated channels that evade tax and consumer protections.

DigiPlus hedges locally while pushing abroad

Parallel to its domestic payments reset, DigiPlus has pursued an international expansion designed to diversify revenue and reduce exposure to Philippines-specific disruptions. The company opened a Singapore-based management hub to anchor global partnerships and administration without offering products in that market, as described in DigiPlus Interactive launches global hub in Singapore. The hub supports platform growth for BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone in regulated jurisdictions outside the Philippines.

DigiPlus also secured a license to operate in Brazil and appointed leadership to develop sports betting and bingo in that market. It subsequently moved into South Africa, preparing filings for multiple licenses with the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board. The company framed South Africa as a gateway to Africa’s digital gaming growth, citing rising mobile engagement and the weight of live sports betting, per DigiPlus global expansion continues with South Africa launch. Together, these steps provide a hedge against local payment constraints and create a broader base from which to absorb regulatory shocks.

The company has also taken a collaborative posture on compliance at home. DigiPlus helped launch the PlaySafe Alliance with other PAGCOR-accredited operators to promote responsible gaming, regulatory integrity and player protection, as noted in the enforcement-focused report. Aligning with industry peers and regulators gives the company latitude to argue for nuanced rules while demonstrating it can meet higher standards.

What the Bayad tie-up signals about the next phase

The Bayad partnership shows how the industry is adapting to a payments environment where super-app convenience is no longer guaranteed. Over-the-counter cash-ins are a short-term stabilizer that can reach a broad customer base accustomed to bill-pay at physical counters. For DigiPlus, the rollout is a staging area for restoring reliable deposits, then layering in cash-outs as regulators and partners sign off. The strategy narrows the gap left by e-wallets while giving authorities clearer sight lines into transaction flows through an accredited EMI.

Still, lawmakers are watching for leakage. If alternative channels proliferate or if cash-outs reintroduce frictionless access, expect calls for tighter coordination across PAGCOR, the central bank and digital platforms. The central lesson from the delinking order is that partial measures can spark quick workarounds. Sustainable policy will likely blend stronger identity checks, transaction monitoring and targeted blocks on illegal operators, rather than whack-a-mole bans that push play underground.

The stakes for consumers, platforms and the state

For consumers, the payment path shapes how easy it is to place a bet and how quickly funds move in and out. Removing e-wallet links adds friction that can deter impulsive play, a key lawmaker goal, but it also risks sending users to less transparent channels. For platforms, the cost of acquiring and retaining players rises when payment options shrink, incentivizing investments in compliant alternatives like Bayad and in regulated markets abroad. For the state, the early revenue dip underscores fiscal exposure to policy shifts and the importance of channeling activity into licensed ecosystems that can be supervised.

Against that backdrop, DigiPlus is trying to straddle compliance and continuity: partnering with an accredited payments provider at home while scaling in Brazil and South Africa through a Singapore hub. Whether that balance holds will depend on how aggressively regulators widen enforcement beyond wallets and how quickly operators can align with new standards without losing too many customers to unlicensed rivals. The backstory to today’s pivot is clear: in Philippine online gambling, the payments pipe has become the prime lever of regulation—and the main battleground for market share.