“A crisis is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind.”— Chinese proverb
JUDGING FROM ITS FINANCIAL INDICATORS SINCE IT burst into the scene in 2022, one would never guess that it was a business unintentionally spawned by the debilitating COVID-19 global crisis.
In 2023, DigiPlus—the mother corporation of BingoPlus—posted a six-fold income growth powered by the revenues of its BingoPlus platform and other Bingo e-games which cumulatively accounts for over 90% of the company’s total revenue.
Net income for 2023 totaled P4.1 billion, surging 596% from its year-ago level, driven by the steady growth of its digital retail segment which was boosted by the introduction of new platforms and cost efficiencies.
Its revenues also soared to P27.3 billion in 2023, up 306% from a year earlier, on higher user traffic in its flagship bingo platform BingoPlus and sportsbook ArenaPlus.
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization), on the other hand, reached P4.8 billion, expanding nearly fivefold from the previous year.
In just one year of operations, DigiPlus became the best performing stock on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), with its stock price increasing by 232% for 2023.
BACK IN 2020
The fantastic business figures registered by DigiPlus was a far cry from its revenue picture in 2020—back when DigiPlus was still known as gaming firm Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC).
In 2020, the entire world was reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global health crisis affecting every facet of human existence.
During this period, the Philippine economy experienced its worst annual contraction, as reported by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS).
“The Philippines posted a real GDP growth rate of -9.5% in 2020, marking the country’s worst annual contraction since records began in 1946,” the socio-economic research portal for the country said.
Businesses in the Philippines recorded no revenues in 2020, suffering from severe restrictions brought by the COVID-19 lockdowns.
For LRWC, the prevailing situation translated to a loss of some P410 million, reversing profits of P97.52 million it posted in 2019.
AN OPPORTUNITY
As the dangerous lockdowns rode roughshod on the country’s infirmed business landscape, one company saw an opportunity amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
“During the peak of the pandemic, the management saw the opportunity in e-commerce and decided to transform how bingo is played, from the bingo halls to bingo online,” said LRWC president Andy Tsui. “BingoPlus was developed because of the pandemic.”
From its Bingo Bonanza games operating in shopping malls, LRWC expanded its operations and started BingoPlus in 2022 as the first live-streaming bingo platform in the Philippines.
That same year, LRWC saw its license for Online Traditional Bingo (OTB) approved by PAGCOR. This first-of-its-kind license allowed the company to offer bingo games using both onsite and offsite platforms.
“OTB is a great way to enjoy bingo from the comfort of ones’ home without having to miss out on social interaction and have the chance to win huge prizes,” Tsui said in a press statement.
Accessible to players who can participate anywhere at any time, a player has the chance of becoming a millionaire even with only P1.
Jackpot prizes individually won through BingoPlus has ranged from a low of P500,000 to as much as P54 million.
RIDING THE WIND OF SUCCESS
The robust online platform of BingoPlus is supported by over 140 physical sites nationwide.
On Feb. 28, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the change of corporate name of LRWC to DigiPlus Interactive Corporation.
With offices from the 32nd up to the 36th Floor of a building in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, DigiPlus has now become one of the fastest-growing digital entertainment companies in the Philippines.
It currently operates the mega-successful BingoPlus, as well as ArenaPlus, a digital sportsbook that livestreams local and international sporting events; PeryaGame, a mirror of Filipino carnival games that offers a wide selection of games of chance such as cards, colors, and numbers; BingoPlus Poker, which allows users to play card games in digital space; and other digital gaming platforms.
“For 2024, we are geared towards increasing DigiPlus’s reach and depth of the growing gaming market, using pioneering technology for digital entertainment that unlocks boundless new forms and multidimensional entertainment experiences,” revealed DigiPlus president Andy Tsui.
To further boost the popularity of BingoPlus, DigiPlus (formerly LRWC) maximized its social media accounts and resorted to the utilization of celebrity endorsers
BingoPlus celebrity endorsers included actors Luis Manzano and Maine Mendoza. On its second year, Maine Mendoza and Piolo Pascual headlined its brand endorsers.
PAGCOR
The business success of DigiPlus and its most viable platform BingoPlus helped turnaround the revenues of state gaming corporation PAGCOR.
Since the pandemic, revenues from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)-run casinos under the Casino Filipino brand continued to slide, earning Php3.7 billion or 16.62% of the 1st quarter total of 2024. This is down from the 20.68% share it contributed to PAGCOR’s revenues in 2023.
Despite the dismal performance of its casino operations, PAGCOR announced that its total income for the first quarter of 2024 has reached Php25.24 billion, a 42.57% increase compared with the same period last year.
Gaming operations accounted for the bulk of 2024 Q1 revenues with Php22.29 billion. Of this amount, 43.46% or Php9.69 billion came from the E-Games sector (eBingo, eGames and Bingo grantees).
Bingo operations likewise contributed to PAGCOR’s revenue performance in 2022, with an Php8.76 billion output which is 77.88% higher than the Php4.92 billion bingo income during the previous year.
The biggest source of bingo income in 2022 was the licensed electronic bingo operation with Php7.59 billion earnings, while the licensees’ traditional bingo yielded Php1.04 billion.
“The E-games sector will be our major source of gaming revenues this year (2024) and in the next few years as innovation and technological integration allows the sector to offer more excitement and convenience to gamers,” PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco told the BusinessMirror.
Tengco was quoted in a statement as saying that the electronic games (e-Games) sector continues its record-breaking performance, bringing in P22.5 billion or more than six times the 2023 first quarter revenues of P3.5 billion.
COMPANY MILESTONES
1957 DigiPlus Interactive Corp. (PLUS), formerly Leisure and Resorts World Corporation (LRWC), was originally incorporated on October 10, 1957 as Atlas Fertilizer Corporation and engaged in fertilizer and industrial chemicals production.
1994 AB Leisure Exponent Inc., BingoPlus’ parent company, was founded on Dec. 28, 1994.
1995 AB Leisure Exponent Inc. was given the authority to operate bingo games under the name Bingo Bonanza Corporation.
1996 The company underwent a corporate restructuring. AB Leisurelater used DigiPlus Interactive, and then Leisure & Resorts World Corporation, to list its assets and businesses.
1999 The company’s primary purpose was amended to engage in realty development focusing on leisure business.
2017 Establishment of the Leisure & Resorts World Foundation, later renamed BingoPlus Foundation
2021 AB Leisure Exponent, Inc. (ABLE), a subsidiary of DigiPlus, owned 132 bingo parlors as of Dec. 31, 2021. ABLE provides amusement
and recreation to the public in traditional, electronic, pulltabs and rapid bingo games.
2022 PAGCOR approved the license of LRWC to operate online traditional bingo (OTB), allowing the company to offer bingo games using both onsite and offsite platforms. BingoPlus began its operations online. Bingo Bonanza branches began operating under BingoPlus
2023 On Feb. 28, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Leisure and Resorts World Corporation (LRWC) change in corporate name to its present one, DigiPlus Interactive Corp.
BingoPlus held its first-ever BingoPlus Night on March 4, 2023 at the Grand Hyatt Manila for the celebration of its first-year anniversary in the industry since its launch in 2022. Celebrity brand endorsers, Luis Manzano, and Maine Mendoza were present to support the event.
2024 DigiPlus President Andy Tsui said DigiPlus has earmarked P1.5 billion to P2 billion for capital expenditures in 2024, in which 50% of the budget will go to technological upgrades,including cybersecurity.
