In just 10 months (between May 2016 and March 2017), online gambling in Portugal reached sales of €82.2 million! Online gambling is a fairly recent development in Portugal. It was just in 2015 that a solid online gambling framework was put in place.
There were sales of €31 million in the first quarter of 2017 from licensed operators, a 13.7% growth from the same time last year, according to the SRIJ, Portugal’s online gambling regulatory commission.
Sports betting sales ranked first, accounting for over 70% of global online gambling sales with €17.4 million in the first quarter of 2017. There are two licensed sports betting providers. Their revenue equalled €57.6 million in the 10 month period mentioned above. Nonetheless, even though these figures are significant, they have been dropping steadily for the last three months.
Casino games, online poker included, represent the rest of online gambling earnings in Portugal. This amounted to €25.1 million. This segment was particularly successful the first three months of 2017, over €13.9 million. On licensed sites, online gambling games include online slots, baccarat, blackjack, American roulette, French roulette, and poker.
The online gambling market in Portugal has seen ups and downs since its inception, but it’s making progress. The biggest problem facing the market is the large amount of regulation by the Portuguese government, which can seen by its slow immersion on the online gambling market. In fact, the SRIJ indicated that almost half of online gambling revenue was taken in government taxes last year. Nevertheless, it’s only had two years to develop so there is enormous growth potential.
The next online gambling market we’ll be covering is Belgium. Keep posted on this niche market by following their blog here!
