DigiPlus targets second-half recovery after e-wallet setback
Philippine online gambling operator DigiPlus Interactive expects to recover its user base by the second half of the year, following regulatory changes that affected e-wallets.
DigiPlus President Andy Tsui told Manila Bulletin the recovery effort follows a government directive issued last year requiring the separation of online gaming platforms from widely used mobile wallets.
“The delinking actually happened in mid-August. We saw a steady recovery over the last six months. What we have done is we increased our engagement with our long-term, high-value users… We have prioritized our efforts to recall users,” he said.
Tsui added that the company’s focus was on reconnecting with long-term users and encouraging them to move to DigiPlus’ own website and mobile applications. He said that more than half of the platform’s users have already made the switch so far.
In response to the new regulations, DigiPlus has introduced new payment options, including a partnership with Bayad Center, which has hundreds of physical outlets nationwide.
DigiPlus also reported a full-year profit of PHP 2.5 billion (US$41.7 million)1 PHP = 0.0167 USD
2026-03-25Powered by CMG CurrenShift, supported by stronger performance earlier in the year, with revenue up 12% to PHP84.2 billion (US$1.4 billion)1 PHP = 0.0167 USD
2026-03-25Powered by CMG CurrenShift.
The company said it is in discussion with regulators and lawmakers on potential reforms to the country’s gaming framework, including stricter controls on payments and advertising.
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The Backstory
After the delinking, a race to retain users
Philippine operator DigiPlus Interactive entered a critical reset after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered e-wallets to sever ties with gambling platforms in mid-August. The immediate impact was a sharp drop in casual traffic and payment friction that rippled across the country’s regulated online market. Competing operators scrambled for workarounds, and regulators moved to plug gaps. DigiPlus’ response, outlined in recent company updates, has centered on migrating its base to owned channels and rebuilding payments rails that do not rely on the two dominant wallets, GCash and Maya.
The company’s recovery plan hinges on reconnecting high-value users, boosting engagement and shifting play onto its websites and apps. That strategy dovetails with an accelerated rollout of cash-in alternatives. It also reflects a broader pivot underway in the sector as operators replace wallet integrations with more traditional, and more compliant, cash services. The stakes are significant: DigiPlus still posted a full-year profit and higher revenue, suggesting the first half propped up results, but management is signaling the second half as the true test of whether a rebuilt payments stack can stabilize growth.
The recovery narrative does not unfold in a vacuum. Lawmakers have stepped up scrutiny, citing addiction risks and the ease with which gambling links can embed in everyday apps. That political pressure is reshaping product design, advertising and payments, and it is likely to determine how quickly any operator can regain scale.
Workarounds proliferate, then regulators push back
The August order gave e-wallets 48 hours to unlink gambling access and the big two complied. Operators quickly pivoted to alternative channels, leaning on e-commerce and messaging platforms to preserve payment flows and communications. In a Senate hearing, authorities reported thousands of illegal sites taken down, yet an even larger number remained active. Coverage documented how some licensed brands told users to route wallet payments through third-party apps, underscoring how fast the ecosystem can rewire itself when core pipes are shut.
Inside that scramble, lawmakers warned that compliance by major wallets was only a first step. They pressed banking and gambling regulators to ensure “full and permanent” disconnection across all wallet services, including those embedded in social and shopping apps. The message was clear: piecemeal enforcement invites whack-a-mole behavior, and the government intends to close obvious back doors. For a regulated operator trying to rebuild trust, the episode sharpened the imperative to pursue channels that regulators view as transparent and supervised.
Reporting on the first weeks after the delinking captured this dynamic. As operators found ways around e-wallet restrictions, they risked drawing tighter oversight and reputational damage. At the same time, senators commended wallet firms for complying, then vowed to escalate enforcement to parts of the digital economy not designed for gambling payments. That backdrop is the context for DigiPlus’ decision to diversify payments through face-to-face rails and licensed kiosks rather than lean on gray-zone integrations.
Rebuilding payments: counters, kiosks and compliance
DigiPlus has cut a series of deals to restore deposit options with clear audit trails. The company announced a partnership with Bayad that enables cash-in at more than 800 branches and affiliated outlets nationwide for BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone. Bayad, a subsidiary of Meralco, holds central bank accreditation as an electronic money issuer. The rollout also contemplates staged cash-out services, which would give users a complete cash loop without relying on the delinked wallets. In the near term, that adds friction versus one-tap reloading, but it meets the letter of the rules and signals a conservative posture to regulators.
In parallel, DigiPlus signed with payment kiosk operator Pay&Go to allow e-wallet top ups at over 3,500 machines nationwide, starting with BingoPlus and expanding to ArenaPlus and GameZone. A cash-out feature is targeted for early 2026. The partners emphasized security and compliance with both the central bank and the gambling regulator, PAGCOR. For users accustomed to mobile-first flows, kiosks and counters are a step back in convenience. For DigiPlus, they are redundancy and reach, putting reload points in malls and convenience stores across the country while regulatory policy on digital wallets evolves.
These moves were detailed in DigiPlus’ Bayad Center tie-up after the e-wallet ban and its Pay&Go kiosk partnership. Together they outline a strategy to replace a single dominant channel with a portfolio approach that blends physical and digital, increases compliance signaling and reduces reliance on any one intermediary.
Rising political risk and the compliance narrative
The industry is navigating heightened political risk. Senators have pushed regulators to clamp down on wallet workarounds, urged enforcement on messaging and e-commerce apps, and floated limiting gambling payments to bank transfers to deter impulsive betting. In calls echoed by PAGCOR and the central bank, lawmakers have framed tighter rails as a consumer protection measure, especially for students and low-income households. Coverage of the pressure campaign by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian and Sen. Erwin Tulfo shows a bipartisan appetite for tougher rules.
DigiPlus has sought to position itself on the cooperative side of that debate. The company publicly backed stronger regulation while warning that an outright online gambling ban, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is weighing, would shift play to unregulated markets and threaten jobs. It highlighted that many proposed safeguards — KYC checks, deposit limits, cooling-off periods and self-exclusion — already exist on its platforms. That stance, detailed in DigiPlus’ call for tighter but not total regulation, aims to separate the firm from operators that chase loopholes and to argue that a supervised market is the safer path.
The company also co-launched the PlaySafe Alliance with other PAGCOR-accredited operators, pledging collaboration on responsible gaming and the fight against illegal platforms. While coalitions can be public relations exercises, they also create a forum for industry-wide compliance standards. If regulators deem the group credible, it could influence the shape of the next rulebook, including how payments, marketing and age verification are policed.
The stakes for the second half
The path to a second-half recovery runs through execution on three fronts. First, payments need to be both compliant and convenient enough to keep high-value users active. The Bayad and Pay&Go networks offer scale, but adoption will depend on how quickly users adjust to offline or semi-offline routines and whether promised cash-out features arrive on schedule. Second, product and marketing must navigate new restrictions, including billboard limits and potential ad tightening, without losing brand salience. Third, political risk must be managed as policymakers weigh whether enforcement and new rules are sufficient, or whether a broader crackdown is warranted.
The base case for DigiPlus is that a diversified payments stack, steady engagement and public alignment with regulators can stabilize the business even as casual play declines. The bear case is that convenience erosion and regulatory uncertainty slow reactivation and push users to offshore sites that can still plug into popular wallets via gray channels. The firm’s reported profitability provides a cushion, but momentum will hinge on whether its alternative rails become habit for enough customers before any further policy shifts.
For now, the industry appears to be moving from improvisation to institutionalization. The early workarounds that sprang up after the delinking drew swift political response, and the subsequent pivot to bank-regulated, face-to-face payments suggests a recognition that stability requires predictability. How quickly that new equilibrium forms will decide whether DigiPlus’ projected rebound materializes by year-end — and whether the market keeps regulators convinced that tougher oversight, not a ban, is the right course.
