Manila-listed online gaming provider DFNN Inc said in a Tuesday filing that it had narrowed its second-quarter net loss by 37.3 percent year-on-year, to PHP44.0 million (US$872,796), from a loss of PHP70.2 million in the prior-year quarter.
In December last year, DFNN had said in a press release filed with the Manila bourse, that a unit of the firm, called Inter-Active Entertainment Solutions Technologies Inc (IEST) had in November been given a Philippines Inland Gaming Operator (PIGO) licence by the country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).
PIGO licences are for online gambling services to a domestic market, rather than the so-called “POGO” licences – Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator – permits for services aimed at players overseas, and which came under scrutiny from China recently as part of its campaign against mainland China residents engaging in online gambling.
DFNN group’s overall revenue rose 104.0 percent in the three months ended June 30, to PHP112.4 million, from PHP55.1 million in the second quarter of 2020. But it had in the second quarter this year a PHP30.7 million loss on operations, although that was narrower by 56.9 percent, than the PHP71.3 million loss on operations in the second quarter last year.
In its Tuesday filing, DFNN said, referring to the Covid-19 crisis, and its impact on land-based gaming and the opportunities presented for online gaming: “As the pandemic continues to hamper customer movement, it has also presented a huge gap in service delivery and an immense business opportunity for technology-driven services.”
As a result, DFNN had “launched an aggressive strategy” in that area, so that in November IEST had launched its “Pagcor-authorised online gaming platform InPlay,” which had “proven to be a very successful venture for the group,” said the quarterly filing.
With hundreds of games on the platform, “providing full confidentiality and 24/7 customer service, it aims to bring legal domestic online gaming services,” added the filing.
Separately in a press release also lodged with the Manila Stock Exchange, DFNN said that for the six months to June 30, InPlay.ph’s gross bets amounted to PHP2.5 billion, with a first-quarter GGR of PHP13.9 million and a second-quarter GGR of PHP99.9 million, amounting to a total of circa PHP113.9 million GGR for the first half of the year. The quarter-on-quarter growth rate was 618.7 percent.
DFNN’s president and chief executive Calvin Lim was cited in the press release as saying: “The positive result of our revenue comparing the second quarters of 2020 and 2021 showing a 104 percent increase, is due to the success of InPlay.ph. It is an undeniable success as customers now opt to use the same for the reliability and convenience that it offers.”
