Portugal Issues Second Sports Betting License

www.bet.pt becomes the second licensed remote sports betting website in Portugal.

Portugal’s regulated gaming market may be moving at a snail’s pace, but at least it is headed in the right direction as we now have two gaming companies licensed to offer their sports betting services to the country residents.

Servico Regulacao e Inspecao de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) announced on Tuesday that Bet Entertainment Technologies Ltd have been issued an online betting license.

Their sports betting platform runs on SBTech software and is found at www.bet.pt, a premium local domain that is expected to help position to company as one of the leading players in the market.

Betclic Everest Had Secured the First License

Bet Entertainment Technologies Ltd is the second operator to be granted an online betting license in Portugal, with France’s Betclic Everest Group breaking the ice back in May.

Lottery operator Santa Casa de Misericordia de Lisboa and casino firm Solverde also hope to secure online betting licenses in the near future, but it is not as if Europe’s leading gaming companies are lining up to enter the potentially lucrative market.

This is not to say that they do not believe in the potential of Portuguese market, but they have rather been put off by preposterous taxes on online gaming revenue.

Namely, all licensed operators are obliged to pay 8 percent tax on the first €30 million of turnover, whereas said tax can rise up to staggering 16 percent, which is believed to be equal to around 90 percent tax on gross gaming revenue.

Poker Licenses Unlikely to be Issued Before November

At the same time, the plans to issue first poker licenses have hit new setbacks, and, as things stand now, Portuguese poker players can be happy if they are allowed to play their favourite game online before the end of the year.

Portuguese gaming regulator SRIJ decided to shape up the poker market a year ago, but having introduced some new changes in April this year, they now need to secure approval from the European Commission.

And with SRIJ yet to submit the required paperwork, chances are it will take at least few more months before the new legal framework becomes effective.