Earlier briefs · page 5
- [PR] Introducing the Investment Calculator: Size Your Acquisition BudgetMost acquisition budgets get set by gut feel or last quarter's number. Our new investment calculator sizes a budget from numbers you already track, using two methods built on our own measured Philippine benchmarks, not imported industry rules of thumb, including why the standard 3:1 LTV:CAC target can be dangerously misleading in this market specifically.Crypto · iGaming
- PAGCOR's 'Very Soon' Regulatory Split Has Been Coming Since 2023Tengco says a decision on separating PAGCOR's regulatory and commercial roles is coming very soon. He's said versions of this at conference after conference since 2023, and GCG studied the same separation in 2017 and 2019 without it happening. The underlying conflict-of-interest argument is real regardless. Here's why the pattern matters as much as the statement.iGaming
- Evolution's Takeover Bid Is Still Live, Here's the Concentration Risk Behind ItEvolution's board rejected Kenneth Dart's takeover bid, but under Swedish rules that doesn't end it, the offer still goes to shareholders directly. What raises the stakes: Dart is also Flutter Entertainment's largest shareholder, a stake worth roughly US$4.5 billion. One investor holding major influence over both a dominant supplier and one of the industry's biggest operators is a real concentration risk, not two unrelated headlines. Here's what that actually means for operators who depend on Evolution's content.iGaming
- Four Different Systems Just Reached the Same Conclusion About Gambling Risk, in the Same WeekMoody's, a UK trade body's suitability review, the Philippine DOJ, and FATF all independently converged on the same signal this week: grey-market and offshore exposure is now being priced, prosecuted, and flagged simultaneously, not one regulator at a time. Here's what each of the four found, and why reading them together changes what they mean.iGaming
- PhilWeb's Games Global Deal Set a Q3 Deadline, and It's Closing This MonthWe mentioned this deal in passing weeks ago. It deserves a real look now: PhilWeb promised a live Q3 2026 rollout of Games Global's 3,000-plus title library, and that window closes this month. Here's what's actually confirmed, what PhilWeb hasn't disclosed, and why the exclusivity structure matters more than the announcement itself.iGaming
- BSP's Draft Rules Close the QR Ph Workaround, and Freeze New Competition in the Same DocumentGovernor Eli Remolona's draft does two things at once: a twelve-month freeze on new payment operator licenses, and a rule ending the layered merchant arrangements offshore gambling and crypto platforms have used to reach Filipino users through QR Ph without a local license. Existing platforms like Coins.ph and Maya move into a high-risk bracket. Here's what closes, what doesn't, and the compliance window that matters most right now.iGaming
- Will PAGCOR's Consumer App Actually Reach Players?GLife worked because it lived inside an app people already opened daily, not because it was well-designed. Verification is a low-frequency need, and a standalone app nobody has a reason to reopen is an app most people never download. A few real directions exist instead, telco alerts, mobile-native search flags, payment-rail blocks, each intervening at a different moment. Which one is actually realistic, and who PAGCOR would need to call to build it, is where this gets specific.iGaming
- DigiPlus Built IEC's Online Platform Because It's About to Own IECDigiPlus is IEC's controlling shareholder in progress, not an arms-length partner, its ₱12 billion investment converts into a 53.89% stake, and the revenue split, 97% to DigiPlus's TGXI, 3% to IEC's license holder, confirms it. This follows our earlier LaVie coverage directly. Here's what the actual structure means for mid-tier operators watching from outside it.iGaming
- Singapore's Betting Tax Grew 11.9%, Here's What It Actually Proves for the Garcia Bill DebateIRAS itself attributes the growth to broader economic activity, the same explanation given for every tax category that grew this year, and betting tax's share of total revenue barely moved. That's a real, useful data point for the Garcia bill debate, just a weaker and more honest one than the headline number alone suggests.iGaming
- Bitget's CEO Is Talking to BlackRock, and Half Her Users Already Prove the PitchBitget's CEO confirmed talks with BlackRock on distributing tokenized ETFs across Asia. BlackRock's own comment was notably more reserved. What's independently verifiable either way: 52% of Bitget's users already hold both crypto and stocks, and tokenized assets are already 40% of its volume. Here's why that data matters more than the deal itself.Crypto · iGaming