DigiPlus Q3 earnings drop 59% after gambling transactions blocked on e-wallets

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2025/08/21: Philippine online gambling transactions fall 50% after e-wallet restrictions 2025/05/07: DigiPlus Interactive reports PHP4.2 billion Q1 net income 2025/08/14: Philippines Central Bank orders e-wallets to unlink from online gambling sites 2025/10/06: Forty-four illegal gambling platforms blocked by Philippines’ telecom firms

The Backstory

Why payments suddenly became the fault line

The sharp drop in DigiPlus Interactive’s quarterly profit traces back to a single chokepoint: the e-wallet. In August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered all digital wallets to cut in-app links to gambling sites within 48 hours, a move unveiled at a Senate hearing that pressed for immediate compliance amid rising public concern. The central bank stressed that users could still reach licensed platforms through browsers, but the order dismantled the frictionless payments that had powered the sector’s surge. Lawmakers cited mounting risks and a wave of illegal sites to justify an aggressive timeline and tighter oversight. For an industry built on convenience and speed, the sudden removal of embedded wallet access was the rare policy shift that materially changes user behavior overnight. The details of the directive, and the political pressure behind it, were laid out in the central bank’s announcement at the Senate hearing, which underscored the government’s intent to blunt digital gambling’s reach and close regulatory gaps. Read the full account of the order and the senators’ demands in the report on the central bank’s instruction to unlink e-wallets from gambling apps.

That policy choice hit operators at the point of sale. Even if players could still navigate to sites, the loss of one-tap deposits inside the wallets reduced frequency and basket size while raising churn risk. For listed firms like DigiPlus, which operate multi-brand platforms, the impact cascaded across products that rely on seamless top-ups for daily active users and microtransactions. The earnings effect, concentrated in the third quarter, reflects how a payments bottleneck can overshadow other business drivers such as game launches, marketing spend or new licenses.

The order also signaled a shift in regulatory strategy. Rather than chasing individual illegal domains, policymakers used the wallets as a systemic lever to restrict access and push compliance. That reframing put the burden on financial gatekeepers and forced operators to rewire cash-in channels fast. In the process, it exposed how much of the sector’s growth was intermediated by a few dominant wallets and how vulnerable that funnel is to policy risk.

The new stance did not arrive in a vacuum. It followed months of hearings, complaint data and takedown activity that pointed to a sprawling offshore market and consumer harm. The link-removal order codified those concerns into a concrete action with immediate commercial consequences, which became visible in sector-level transaction data the next business day.

For DigiPlus, the policy shock landed during a period of rapid scaling. That timing amplified the quarter-on-quarter decline and put a spotlight on execution around payments alternatives, customer retention and compliance posture.

Transactions halved as the switch flipped

The speed of the demand shock was measurable. The Philippine gambling regulator PAGCOR told lawmakers that online gaming transactions fell 50% in the first two days after e-wallet platforms cut in-app access. PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro Tengco framed the drop as evidence of how essential integrated wallets had become to play and said the agency would push for stricter online rules to keep pace with a fast-changing market. The regulator’s briefing also quantified the enforcement challenge, noting that more than 60% of sites targeting Filipinos were illegal and operated offshore. The details of that testimony, including complaint volumes and takedown statistics, are in the report on transactions falling 50% after e-wallet restrictions.

The abrupt decline helps explain why a relatively short policy window can show up so clearly in corporate results. When transaction counts collapse, revenue follows, and with it operating leverage that magnifies hits to profitability. That dynamic is visible in sector leaders like DigiPlus that rely on high-frequency play and broad funnels across bingo, sports and casual games.

The regulator’s data also set the stage for the industry’s near-term playbook: restore convenience without breaching the spirit of the rules, prioritize verified channels and focus on customer segments most likely to adapt to new funding paths. For investors, the 50% figure offered an early proxy for top-line pressure before companies filed their quarterlies.

PAGCOR’s stance further indicated that tighter manuals and upgraded monitoring were coming, which suggests that the payments clampdown may be a first step rather than a one-off. That increases the premium on resilient funding mechanisms and transparent KYC, and it raises the bar for marketing tied to promotions that assumed instant wallet access.

In the meantime, operators have had to manage two fronts: sustaining legal play and distancing from illegal lookalikes that can undercut compliant firms on access and payouts.

A scramble to rebuild the cash-in rails

With e-wallet pipes narrowed, DigiPlus moved to stand up alternative cash-in options at physical touchpoints. The company named Bayad Center as a new payment channel for its platforms, allowing deposits at more than 800 branches and affiliated outlets. Withdrawals are planned in phases. The shift to over-the-counter cash-in gives users a regulated path to fund accounts without relying on the disabled in-app wallet flows. It also reflects a broader post-crackdown playbook: diversify funding, tighten controls and signal alignment with regulators. The company’s adjustment plan is detailed in the update on DigiPlus partnering with Bayad Center after the e-wallet ban.

Bayad, an accredited electronic money issuer, offers compliance credentials that matter as the government emphasizes consumer protection. The trade-off is friction. Physical deposits and staged withdrawals can slow session velocity and deter casual users. Operators will likely offset that with incentives, streamlined verification and clearer messaging on responsible play.

DigiPlus also pointed to international expansion, including a Brazil launch under the GamePlus brand and license applications in South Africa. Those moves diversify geography and currency risk, though near-term earnings remain tied to the Philippine market and its evolving rules.

Over the next few quarters, watch for how quickly cash-in volumes migrate to these new rails and whether operators can recapture high-value cohorts. The mix shift will influence take rates, fraud costs and customer lifetime value as the sector adjusts to operating without embedded wallet buttons.

The switch also tests relationships with financial partners. As banks and payment firms calibrate risk, operators with strong compliance records may gain preferred access, while others face slower onboarding and tighter limits.

Enforcement expands beyond payments

While the central bank targeted wallets, other agencies widened the crackdown against unlicensed platforms. Telecom firms blocked access to dozens of illegal gambling apps flagged by PAGCOR in coordination with the National Telecommunications Commission and cybercrime authorities. The campaign followed a congressional inquiry that warned of revenue leakage and urged tougher measures, including app store removals and e-wallet enforcement. Officials also cautioned users against bypassing restrictions, saying violators could face criminal liability. The scope of blocks and the call for broader action are detailed in the report on telecom firms blocking 44 illegal platforms.

The multi-pronged approach—payments, telecom blocking and law enforcement funding—seeks to squeeze illegal supply while steering play to licensed operators. PAGCOR’s contribution to the National Bureau of Investigation underscores the resource shift toward digital forensics and takedown capability.

For compliant firms, the enforcement push is a double-edged sword. It raises short-term friction for all users, but it also can reduce unfair competition from offshore sites that ignore taxes, KYC and player safeguards. If regulators sustain pressure on illegal operators while enabling stable, vetted payments for licensed platforms, incumbents may recapture share even with tighter rules.

The challenge is durability. Authorities acknowledge a cat-and-mouse dynamic as rogue sites rebrand and resurface. That reality keeps pressure on detection systems and interagency coordination, and it means policy signals—like the wallet directive—carry outsized weight in shaping market behavior.

Ultimately, the winners in this environment will be operators that can document compliance, partner credibly with payment networks and adapt product design to the constraints of a stricter regime.

From breakout growth to a regulatory reset

The third-quarter reversal follows a period of rapid expansion for DigiPlus. Earlier this year, the company reported first-quarter net income of PHP4.2 billion, up 110% year over year, on a 69% surge in revenue. Management credited flagship brands BingoPlus, GameZone and ArenaPlus and emphasized investments in technology and trust. Those results, detailed in the report on DigiPlus’s first-quarter net income, set expectations for continued scaling before the policy shock.

The new landscape forces a strategic reset. Product launches and new licenses can still drive engagement, but distribution economics have changed. Payments now depend more on physical networks and compliant channels, marketing must adapt to higher acquisition costs and retention hinges on reducing friction without violating rules.

The stakes extend beyond one quarter. Tax contributions, which rise with regulated play, depend on keeping users in licensed ecosystems. Policymakers are trying to balance consumer protection with preserving a formal market that funds oversight. Operators are racing to harden compliance while keeping platforms accessible and safe.

If the sector can stabilize alternative payments and regulators can narrow the illegal supply, the worst of the volume shock may fade. Until then, quarterly results will likely reflect the tug-of-war between policy tightening and operational adaptation—a pattern that began the week e-wallet buttons disappeared and transaction counts were cut in half.

For investors and customers, the signal is clear: the growth narrative is still in play but now runs through a more supervised market where convenience is earned, not assumed.