Growth continues

According to the Portuguese gambling regulator, Servi?o Regula??o e Inspe??o de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ), Portugal’s iGaming sector has grown for the seventh month in a row.

A total of €54.1m ($60.3m) was generated at online gambling websites in Portugal in the third quarter of 2019. This represents an increase from the €48.3m ($53.7m) reported for the previous quarter. A 39.1% year-on-year increase highlights the continuing momentum of Portugal’s online sector.

€54.1m ($60.3m) was generated at online gambling websites in Portugal in the third quarter of 2019

While 18 online gambling licenses have been issued in the country, the revenue was generated by 11 businesses. Only two operators with online gambling platforms were active in the market in the same period in 2018, which explains the gulf in numbers.

Breaking down the figures

Online casino revenue rose from €25.3m ($28.1m) in Q2 to €28.2m ($31.6m) in Q3. There was a significant rise in the total spent at Portuguese online casinos in the most recent quarter. Spending increased from €699.8m ($778m) in Q2 to €741.5m ($825m) in Q3.?

Online sports betting revenues reached €25.9m ($28.8m) in Q3, up from a total of €23m ($25.6m) in the previous quarter.

Sports bettors wagered €114m ($127m) in the quarter. This figure represents a slight increase of €2m ($2.22m) from the previous quarter. However, it still fell short of the record monthly sports betting handle set in Q1 of 2019 when €131.1m ($146m) was posted.

Soccer is by far the most popular sport to bet on in the country, with 77.5% of the total wagered being wagers on soccer games.

Thriving market

This latest quarterly report also highlights a significant increase in the number of people registering at licensed online gambling websites.

56% of gamblers in the country still place bets with unlicensed operators

A total of 149,000 people created an account at an online gambling site in Portugal in the Q3, which is a new record. This compares to 102,200 signups in Q2 and 125,200 signups in Q1 of this year. In total, 345,100 different people placed online bets in Q3.

There is also a significant market for unlicensed online gambling in Portugal. According to the results of a study in October, 56% of gamblers in the country still place bets with unlicensed operators despite online gambling being legal for the past three years.