9-month DigiPlus profit reached P8.75B

Listed online gaming and entertainment platform DigiPlus Interactive Corp. saw its profits surge more than fourfold in the first nine months of the year as strong demand for digital games fueled the rapidly growing sector.

The online bingo and lotto operator on Tuesday said its net income in the January to September period swelled by 314 percent to P8.75 billion, buoyed by the retail games segment and new product offerings.

Revenues likewise soared by 223 percent to P51.56 billion.

READ: DigiPlus bets on Brazil online gambling market

In the third quarter alone, DigiPlus’ net income expanded by 247 percent to P3.52 billion.

Meanwhile, higher user traffic caused a 171-percent uptick in revenues during the quarter to P19 billion.

“We intend to cement our market leadership through focused research and development efforts to strategically develop culturally relevant games that resonate with Filipino audiences,” DigiPlus chair Eusebio Tanco said in a statement.

DigiPlus’ main games include BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone, as well as “perya” games— those played at Filipino carnivals or fairs—like Color Game.

The company recently launched Pinoy Drop Ball, another digital “perya” experience. As its name suggests, the game promises a jackpot prize of up to P200 million if the ball drops on a card that a player bet on.

In August, the company announced plans to penetrate the Brazil market through subsidiary DigiPlus Brazil Interactive Ltda.

This came after the Brazilian government in December legalized fixed-odds betting related to sports events and online games.

This is a form of gambling where players bet on the probability of a certain event happening, such as the odds of a horse winning or losing in a race.

While Brazil now has an “enabling regulatory environment” for online gambling, DigiPlus said the Philippines would remain its core market.

Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed that DigiPlus was the seventh top gainer in the first semester as its share price more than doubled to P16.86 by end-June versus P8 at the beginning of the year.

DigiPlus president Andy Tsui previously said they were expecting to attract an additional 5 million to 10 million registered users this year from around 20 million currently.