Online Casinos Made a Significant Impact on Portugal’s Q2 Results

The latest results reveal the Portuguese sports betting market improves in July.

Portuguese gambling regulator Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) has recently posted its results for the second quarter of this year, revealing the country’s market recorded growth during this period.

According to SRIJ, online casino vertical was the main driving force behind the latest result.

Revenue Improving

The country’s gambling market generated €48.3 million in revenue during the three-month period ending on June 30, which represents an improvement of 29.5% when compared to the corresponding period of 2018. More importantly, the market set a new record, surpassing the previous one, set in the first quarter of this year, by €1 million.

A total of 11 licensed online gambling sites operated in Portugal during the most recent quarter – 3 more than in the same period of 2018. At the same time, the number of sports betting operators offering their services in this country increased from 8 to 18. The number of casinos improved from 5 in the last year to 10.

Revenue from online sports betting increased by 12.4% to €23 million, with the betting handle going up by 22.3% from Q2 2018 to €112.1 million. Football was the most popular sport among bettors, with the country’s Primeira Liga accounting for 71.4% of the overall betting turnover. Tennis and basketball were far behind with 16.4% and 7.5% respectively.

Slots Dominate Online

Online casino revenue, including poker, went up by more than 50% to €25.3 million, leaving sports betting behind for the first time. Slots dominated the online casino vertical, accounting for 67% of the share. Roulette came in second with 13.5%, followed by blackjack with 8%.

Although the market recorded a jump, the number of new registration dropped by 1.6% when compared to the previous year. This drop is even bigger when compared to the first quarter of this year – 23%.

The government took a total of €21 million in the second quarter, which is nearly 25% more year-on-year.

The good news is the market continues to grow despite the country’s strict tax regime, but in the long run, this could pose a serious problem.