Portuguese licensees face further delays

Operators may have to wait until the end of the year before getting their hands on a licence for the newly-regulated Portuguese market following the announcement of further delays in the regulatory process.

Portugal’s regulatory framework passed into law in April and went live in June, but despite hopes the first licences would be issued by September, Turismo de Portugal, which is administering the process, says the end of the year is now a more likely scenario.

“I believe Turismo de Portugal is more focused now on publishing the list of entities for certification of the gambling technical system, which will be one of the requisites of licensing,” António Moura Portugal, a partner at ABBC & Associados law firm in Lisbon, said.

The publication of the final technical requirements was expected in August following a period of consultation with operators, but while some of the requirements have been published, the certification process has not yet been completed.

Portugal added that while the Turismo is currently accepting applications, it had yet to issue a single licence and was unlikely to do so before the end of the year.

Operators have been cool on Portugal’s new framework, with many put off by a turnover tax considered prohibitive.

But several operators are nonetheless understood to have either applied or plan to apply for a permit, including Betfair and PokerStars, while others such as William Hill left the door open to a possible return to the market after being forced to withdraw upon regulation.