Maybank Forecasts DigiPlus Pivot Toward High-Value Players Amid Tighter Regulations

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According to a recent report from Maybank Securities Inc, the operator is shifting away from aggressive user-base growth to focus on high-value players and monetizing its existing audience.

DigiPlus Interactive Corp is fundamentally recalibrating its business model as it navigates a more restrictive regulatory climate in the Philippines. According to a recent report from Maybank Securities Inc, the operator is shifting away from aggressive user-base growth to focus on high-value players and monetizing its existing audience.

Margin Improvements via Strategic Investment

While Maybank Securities cut its revenue assumptions for DigiPlus by 12% for 2026, it expects the company’s EBITDA margins to rise to 19.7% by 2027. This profitability boost is largely attributed to DigiPlus’s investment in International Entertainment Corp (IEC), which controls the New Coast Hotel Manila (LaVie Resort & Casino).

This commercial agreement allows DigiPlus to apply a significantly lower integrated casino tax rate, dropping from nearly 39% to roughly 31.5%.

Maybank analyst Raffy Mendoza noted that this operating strategy prioritizes “contribution per user” over volume:

“[The management intends to focus on] fewer yet more involved customers, as well as a greater contribution per user. [This is] the result of the company’s adaptation to existing market regulations.”

Offshore Expansion Catalysts

Despite a slower revenue forecast, Maybank projects net profit growth of 8% in 2026 and a massive 22% in 2027. The recalibration aims for steady, high-margin income rather than volatile mass-market gains.

DigiPlus is also looking abroad, having secured licenses in South Africa and Brazil, though these offshore contributions have not yet been factored into Maybank’s financial models as they await further execution data.

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