Portugal revenues dip for first time since re-regulation
Regulator Comissão de Jogos scoops €16.3m in tax from the seven locally-licensed operators
Portugal’s online gaming revenues reached €56.8m in H1 2017 but slipped back in Q2 for the first time, according to new figures from the Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ).
Q2 revenues were 19% lower than Q1 at €25.4m, the first slump since the market went live in June 2016.
The dip was driven by declining sports betting revenues which fell from €17.4m in Q1 to €13.9m in Q2, with the market facing tough Euro 2016 comparisons.
Sports betting still made up over half of the total revenues for H1 at €31.4m, despite only three of the seven local licences held by sportsbooks.
H1 casino revenues more than doubled to €25.3m, from the previous half year, although Q2 was again lower than Q1 at €11.4m compared to €13.9m.
SRIJ reported the number of new registrations fell from 112,000 in Q1 to 64,400 in Q2.
Between January and April, the Comissão de Jogos (Gaming Commission) scooped €16.3m in tax from the seven locally licenced operators.
The majority of the “special tax” came from sportsbooks taxed up to 16% of turnover depending on volume. Meanwhile, casino operators are taxed on a GGR basis.
In June the commission issued its latest licence to local operator Figuerira Company Praia and its online brand Casino Portugal.