Philippine online gaming operator DigiPlus Interactive has withdrawn from the final rounds of New Zealand’s online casino license auction, citing further market analysis and a review of market values.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said it had abstained from the closing rounds of the auction for the right to apply for an online casino license in New Zealand. DigiPlus said the decision would have no impact on its businesses and did not represent a change in its international expansion strategy.
The company had disclosed on August 4th that it had filed an expression of interest for a New Zealand license. It did not say what price it was prepared to pay or whether it would seek a license in any future process, Gambling.com reported.
The auction ended after ten rounds at a price of NZ$15 million per license. New Zealand will issue up to 15 licenses under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026, and 11 companies have won the right to apply, under a system in which winning bidders must still meet the regulator’s requirements before they can operate.
The withdrawal comes after Brazil’s ban on online betting hit another of DigiPlus’s overseas markets, although the company said at the time that it expected no material impact.
