DigiPlus launches buyback program; shares slip 4%
Despite launching its share buyback program on Friday, shares of online gaming giant DigiPlus Interactive Corp. closed lower by 4.3 percent to P37.80 each, succumbing to profit-taking after its recovery this week.
Month-to-date, the online gaming and entertainment platform has tumbled by 27.31 percent.
This comes despite launching its P6-billion share buyback program, which was swiftly approved following Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian’s proposal to tighten regulations on the online gambling industry.
In a disclosure on Friday, the Eusebio Tanco-led company said it had repurchased 3 million shares for a total of P117.74 million.
While it did manage to recover from its dive by as much as 34 percent this week, DigiPlus settled at a lower closing price on Friday. Still, its shares reached as high as P40.55 within the day.
Among the key proposals under Gatchalian’s filed bill are a minimum top-up threshold of P10,000 and prohibiting e-wallet apps like GCash and Maya from acting as payment platforms.
The lawmaker pointed out that these were meant to discourage gambling among low-income households, especially since these platforms have made it easier to access gambling websites.
Should the bill be signed into law, analysts warned that it could deal a big blow to both DigiPlus, which launched its flagship game BingoPlus in 2022, and Bloomberry Resorts Corp., whose MegaFUNalo just made its debut last month.
Bloomberry
To recall, DigiPlus more than doubled its first-quarter profit to P4.2 billion thanks to BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone. This is higher than the P3.3 billion of Bloomberry, which operates the brick-and-mortar Solaire casinos.
DigiPlus also enjoyed a year-to-date share price surge of 92 percent to P52 each on June 30, or the day the bill was filed.
DigiPlus’ Brazil entry is expected to soften the impact of the proposed law, especially if its domestic market growth slows.
For its part, Fintech Alliance Philippines, an organization of financial technology companies in the country, has agreed to tighten safeguards and implement “robust due diligence measures” to ensure limited access to gambling via digital payment platforms.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has likewise ordered the takedown of billboards related to online gambling. DigiPlus’ BingoPlus and Bloomberry’s MegaFUNalo are among the most prominent out-of-home advertisements seen in Metro Manila.
