MANILA (Bloomberg): Tycoon Enrique Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp. launched its online casino platform in the Philippines’ booming internet gambling sector, taking aim at market leader DigiPlus Interactive Corp.

Revenue from electronic games overtook those from large brick-and-mortar casinos for the first time in the Philippines last year, marking a shift in Asia’s second-largest gambling hub, according to the nation’s gaming agency. 

Bloomberry’s gaming site is accepting bets of less than $1 for games such as slots, baccarat and roulette, as the company targets mass consumers.

Razon, with a net worth of $11.3 billion according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, told stockholders in April that his online gaming foray would diversify the company’s revenue streams. Bloomberry runs two integrated resorts in the metropolitan Manila region under the Solaire brand, and a casino in Jeju in South Korea.

Bloomberry shares rallied as much as 18.8% on Monday, marking its largest intraday gain in more than six weeks and making it the top-performer among Philippine blue chip stocks.

While the Southeast Asian nation’s expanding online gaming market has room for another player like Bloomberry, the company will face tough competition from entrenched DigiPlus.

"Competing with DigiPlus, an established player with 40 million registered users, presents notable challenges for Bloomberry,” said Toby Allan Arce, an analyst at Globalinks Securities & Stocks Inc. in Manila.

DigiPlus attracted 40 million registered users in 2024, double its 2023 numbers, according to the company. It is already looking at other markets after securing a license in Brazil, where the company will offer sports betting. It is also setting up a Singapore unit to drive international growth.

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