DIGIPLUS Interactive Corp. shares hit an all-time high last week after news that it had obtained a gaming license in Brazil.

The digital gambling company’s stock rose 6.6% or P27.15 week on week to close at P28.95 each. A total of 10.92 million shares worth P309.8 million were traded on Jan. 2 to 3, making it the eighth-most active stock.

Local financial markets were closed from Dec. 30 to Jan. 1 for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

“Investors flocked to DigiPlus following its announcement of securing an online gaming license in Brazil,” said Jemimah Ryla R. Alfonso, equity research analyst at Unicapital Securities, Inc. “With the official authorization from the Brazilian government in hand, DigiPlus is poised to break its own records.”

He said Brazil’s online casino market is projected to reach $1.27 billion this year. A 1% slice translates to an additional $12.7 million (P739 million) in revenue, he pointed out.

Brazil’s online sports betting market is expected to hit $850 million, and capturing just 1% of that market means an extra $8.5 million in revenue for DigiPlus, Ms. Alfonso said.

In a disclosure last week, DigiPlus said unit DigiPlus Brazil Interactive Ltda. had secured a gaming license to run sports betting and online gaming services in Brazil.

DigiPlus passed the qualification stage for the federal license on Nov. 21 after filing the application in August.

The company said it was expanding in Brazil, citing its population of more than 200 million and its potential as one of the fastest-growing gaming markets in Latin America.

The license allows it to operate land-based and online sports betting, electronic games, live game studios and other fixed-odds betting activities in Brazil.

The DigiPlus board also gave an initial P660 million to fund the license fees, minimum capitalization, financial reserves and other operational expenses as part of the Brazilian government’s post-qualification process.

“Investors have cheered this development as this provides DigiPlus a new avenue to further grow its user base, and consequently profitability, considering the growing adoption of online gaming in Brazil,” Rastine Mackie D. Mercado, research director at China Bank Securities Corp., said. “Such expansion strategy will also help DigiPlus weather the tightening competition in the domestic market.”

DigiPlus third-quarter attributable net income more than tripled to P3.52 billion from a year earlier, driven by new game offerings and higher user traffic. Revenue almost tripled to P19 billion, led by growing user traffic in its flagship platforms such as BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, PeryaGame, Tongits+ and GameZone. “We project DigiPlus revenues to reach P71.9 billion for full-year 2024,” Mr. Mercado said. “While we don’t usually provide quarterly estimates, we project sales for full-year 2025 at P88.9 billion.”

The estimates do not yet factor in the Brazil expansion, he added.

Mr. Mercado put the stock’s resistance at P30, while the immediate support is at P25.50. Ms. Alfonso put the support range at P26.50 to P27.40, while resistance is at P29.20 to P30.35 per share. — Lourdes O. Pilar