The Philippines’ largest gaming operator, DigiPlus, is being vastly undervalued, warned iGaming investment group Betplay Capital Foundation.
Betplay cited DigiPlus’ favourable position across key metrics compared to other gaming groups, as it described the market’s valuation of DigiPlus as ‘simply absurd’.
The Polish group, controlled by the Juroszek family, which owns a 1.4% stake in DigiPlay alongside the ZJ Foundation and the MJ Foundation, wrote an open letter to the operator urging it to prioritise a large-scale share buyback scheme rather than pursue land-based expansion.
According to the letter, DigiPlus currently trades at x2.4 of the estimated 2026 Enterprise Value/EBITDA, around one-third of the peer median, while offering a free cash flow (FCF) yield of around 32%, over six times the peer median of roughly 5%.
The investment group said it values DigiPlus at P30 (37p), more than double the operator’s current price on the Philippine Stock Exchange of Php 11.54 (14p).
“DigiPlus currently trades as the lowest-valued B2C operator in the entire peer group across every major valuation metric, and by a wide margin,” said the letter.
“It is with the evidence above in mind that we urge the Board to pursue a substantial share buyback program at current prices, which we believe is by far the greatest value creation opportunity available to shareholders today.”
Overcoming global headwinds
DigiPlus’ fortunes in the last year have mirrored the wider struggles of the Philippines’ gambling industry caused by an August 2025 mandate to de-link e-wallets from online gaming platforms and rising tensions in the Middle East, which have increased the cost of living for Filipino consumers.
Despite this, the group reported revenues of Php 84.2bn (£1.03bn) in 2025, up 12% year-on-year, as its first-half performance offset the headwinds in the latter half of the year.
According to the letter, DigiPlus also recorded revenue of Php 17.2bn (£209.7m) in the first quarter of 2026, a 27% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Betplay dismissed the impact of these dual factors in the long-term, praising the way DigiPlus has responded by adapting its payments ecosystem and reducing its reliance on third-party access points.
The letter said: “Revenue has already stabilised sequentially, the balance sheet remains a fortress with over P20b [£243.8] cash and virtually no debt, and as these transitory pressures normalise, we expect the return to growth in 2027 to bring the company’s trading multiples back towards industry standards.
An attractive proposal?
Given these challenges in the market, Betplay also cautioned against DigiPlus’ ambitions to expand in the land-based sector, describing them as ‘not optimal’. The sector has experienced its own headwinds, as highlighted by some of the Philippines’ largest casino operators seeking a presence in the online sector.
Betplay argued that buying shares at a discounted rate would serve as a much more fruitful option to capitalise on DigiPlus’ cash reserves.
The letter said: “We understand the strategic logic of the land-based and integrated resort ambitions. However, land-based projects are capital-heavy, carry long payback periods, and their returns cannot realistically compete with buying back the company’s own stock at one-third of the industry multiple.
“Our respectful suggestion is that any non-committed land-based capital expenditure be postponed, and that in the meantime, the entire free cash flow be redirected towards buying back and cancelling shares.
“The upside here does not depend on the company doing anything extraordinary – it depends only on the abnormal sentiment discount fading as the delinking and macro headwinds normalise. A buyback executed today retires shares while the discount persists, and it amplifies the per-share benefit of the eventual re-rating.”
Alongside DigiPlus, Betplay currently holds a controlling stake in Gaming Innovation Group. It also holds shares in Evolution, Flutter, Entain and Raketech, among others.
The group urged DigiPlus’ Board of Directors to renew a share purchase authorisation agreed upon last year, which expired on 4 June.
iGaming Expert has reached out to DigiPlus for comment.
