By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) order directing electronic wallet (e-wallet) platforms to remove in-app links to online gambling sites is expected to weigh on their earnings and could delay the planned initial public offering (IPO) of GCash, analysts said.
“The BSP suspension order is expected to have a significant impact on the major e-wallet platforms because of the substantial volume of online gaming transactions through those apps,” China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet told BusinessWorld.
Last week, the BSP ordered all e-wallets, banks, and other supervised institutions to remove in-app gambling assets, including links directing users to gaming or gambling websites. The BSP said the suspension will remain in place until its guidelines for online gambling payment services are finalized.
Maya, the digital finance platform partly owned by listed telecommunications firm PLDT Inc., said it had fully complied with the BSP directive by disabling links to gambling sites.
GCash also announced that it had suspended gaming access following the BSP’s directive. Listed Globe Telecom, Inc. has an ownership stake in Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt), the parent company of GCash.
“The order to remove in-app gaming access in GCash and Maya may dent these platforms’ gaming-related transactions,” Unicapital Securities, Inc. Equity Research Analyst Peter Louise D.C. Garnace said in a Viber message.
First Grade Finance, Inc. Managing Director Astro C. del Castillo said the BSP order is a welcome move and the immediate compliance of both GCash and Maya is commendable.
“We don’t expect that it will derail their earnings trajectory since both are more focused on infra expansion and enterprise services among others,” Mr. Del Castillo said.
However, for Unicapital Securities’ Mr. Garnace and China Bank Capital’s Mr. Colet, the recent government order may still pose a threat to major e-wallet platforms.
“The impact should be limited as growth in these e-wallets remains broad-based. The BSP’s directive restricts only in-app gambling access and does not impair overall payment capability, as users can still transact directly through online gaming providers’ websites,” Mr. Garnace said.
While the BSP order is temporary, Mr. Colet said it could still affect the earnings of these platforms.
“The order is temporary, but the longer it stays in place, the bigger the potential drag on their earnings. This will likely further delay the planned initial public offering of GCash,” he said.
Globe said earlier that the much-anticipated GCash IPO would likely proceed later this year or next year amid market uncertainties.
For the first half, Globe’s attributable net income fell 14.5% to P12.44 billion from P14.55 billion a year earlier, dragged by weaker revenue for the six months ending June.
Globe’s gross revenue for the January-to-June period dropped 2.68% to P87.23 billion from P89.63 billion a year ago.
The company’s net income decline was partly tempered by its affiliates, particularly Mynt, the holding company of GCash.
Mynt posted strong performance in the first half, Globe said, noting that GCash helped offset a steeper decline in its net income.
Mynt’s equity earnings for the six-month period ended June 2025 surged 78% to P3.8 billion from P2.1 billion last year. This accounted for 26% of Globe’s pre-tax net income, more than double its 12% contribution a year earlier.
Meanwhile, PLDT said it expects profitability from Maya this year, adding that the platform may generate about P2 billion in earnings by yearend.
For the first half, PLDT’s share of profits from its digital bank Maya amounted to P406 million, a turnaround from a P1.1-billion loss a year ago.
“In our view, the measure reduces convenience (no more one-click access to the e-wallet), but does not eliminate the ability to fund gambling activities. Whether this added friction will significantly curb gaming-related transactions remains to be seen,” Mr. Garnace said.
At the stock exchange on Friday, shares in Globe closed P3, or 0.18% higher at P1,698 apiece, while PLDT shares fell P26, or 1.99%, to P1,280 each.
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