Portuguese gaming revenues up 52% in Q4 as both gaming and betting spike
Double-digit rises reported in both major verticals as market hits record figures
Portugal’s gross gaming revenues rose by 52% year-on-year during the last three months of 2019, according to new figures released by Portuguese regulator SRIJ.
Revenues for Q4 reached €65.4m, up €22.4m from the €43m figure reported during the fourth quarter of 2018.
Sports betting enjoyed the biggest annual revenue increase during Q4, with revenues hitting €33.4m, a rise of 55% on the €21.6m generated during the same period in 2018.
Betting on football continued to dominate, capturing almost 75% of the total sports bets taken during the quarter.
Basketball betting came in second during with 13% of bets, while betting on tennis matches only accounted for 6%.
Online gambling revenues increased by 49.1% annually to €32m from a previous Q4 2018 high of €21.5m.
Slot games accounted for 68% of stakes made during the quarter, beating French roulette with 13% and blackjack with 8% of stakes.
New player sign-ups rocketed 58% year-on-year to 163,900, while the number of individuals self-excluding also increased by 51% to 47,800.
A total of 30 letters were sent by the SRIJ to illegal operators requiring them to cease offering egaming to Portuguese players without a licence during the quarter. The ISP’s of 15 operators were also blocked by the SRIJ during the period.
Under Portuguese law, the SRIJ is empowered to order Portuguese internet service providers to block the websites of any operator illegally offering online gaming or sports betting to Portuguese players without a licence.
Only one licence was issued during the final three months of 2019, to online casino and roulette operator Caravel Entertainment Limited.
Picture Credit/ istock/Darwin Brandis