DigiPlus Interactive Corp said in a Monday statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange there were “no definitive plans at this time” to acquire CasinoPlus, an online gaming provider regulated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor). CasinoPlus holds a gaming licence for its under-renovation integrated resort (IR), the Hotel Stotsenberg and Casino in Clark, located two hours north of the capital Manila.
Under new regulation, licensed land-based casinos and IR operators are permitted to offer online gambling exclusively to registered members within the country. Moreover, the games offered must be connected to physical gaming machines or tables at bricks-and-mortar casinos. That differentiates this online product from traditional online gaming that relies on server-based virtual games.
DigiPlus said in its Monday statement: “Acquisitions have always been in the company’s plan as part of its strategic expansion. However, there are no definitive plans at this time.”
The firm’s comment about CasinoPlus was a clarification of a report in the news outlet Bilyonaryo.com, which said DigiPlus was set to acquire CasinoPlus.
On Sunday, the platform had reported: “If the buyout goes through, DigiPlus and CasinoPlus would have a combined monthly revenue of PHP10 billion” (US$170.4 million).
The media outlet added talks between the two had been “smooth so far considering that DigiPlus and CasinoPlus have a few investors in common”.
DigiPlus, formerly known as Leisure & Resorts World Corp, had until October 2023 been linked with a proposal to develop a casino resort on the holiday island of Boracay.
Presently, it is a Philippine holding company with investment in gaming and leisure businesses, including digital bingo and a digital sportsbook platform.
As of the time of its third-quarter earnings statement on November 11, DigiPlus remained 87.27-percent owner of First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corp.
First Cagayan is tasked with licensing, regulating and monitoring the operations of interactive gaming businesses on behalf of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA). The latter body has been issuing licences for “interactive gaming” since 2001.
