Portugal sets online gambling revenue record in Q3
Portugal’s gambling regulator reported a new quarterly high of €215.3m in Q3.
Portugal.- Portugal’s Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ) reported that the country earned €215.3m from online gambling in the third quarter of 2023. Total market revenue from July-September 2023 surpassed the existing record of €122m, which was set in Q2, by 4.6 per cent. The Q3 figure was also 36.1 per cent higher than the €158.2m generated in the same period in 2022.
In total, players spent €3.65bn playing online games during the quarter which hit a new record, marking an increase of 47.2 per cent. Slots were the most popular type of game, with 82.3 per cent of the total amount while blackjack generated 6.2 per cent and French roulette took 6.4 per cent.
Sports betting revenue in Q3 amounted to €81.9m. This was 17.7 per cent higher than the previous year but 2.5 per cent lower than Q2 and the third consecutive quarter of decline.
Player spending on online sports wagering was 12.1 per cent higher year-on-year at €390.5m. Of this total, 71.4 per cent of bets were placed on football, 22.2 per cent on tennis and 6.4 per cent across other sports.
In the third quarter, 196,600 players excluded themselves from online gambling, a significant increase of 42.5 per cent annually. There were 205,200 new accounts, and 97,800 cancelled accounts. In total, 23 websites were closed by SRIJ in the third quarter because of illegal gambling operations.
The state’s operators recorded 3.9 million active accounts used for online gambling in the third quarter.
In the third quarter, land-based gambling revenue was €76.1m, which is 14 per cent more than in the same period in 2022. Slot machines earned €57.2m, which is an increase of 1 per cent, and generated 75.1 per cent of the quarterly revenue. Casino-style and bingo games generated €18.9m, which is 35.6 per cent more than in the same quarter last year. Baccarat earned €5.9m, American roulette earned €5.8m, and blackjack generated €3.3m.
