Portugal’s Santa Casa gives €245m to sports and tourism in four years
The PS parliamentary group has submitted a request for information on funds distribution.
Portugal.- National sports and tourism bodies received €245m from Santa Casa da Misericórdia‘s sports betting offerings between 2018 and 2022, government figures show. Of that, €151.7m was generated online.
The figures were released following the PS parliamentary group’s request for an update on funds distributed by the charitable organisation, which runs the national lottery, off-course betting, and the Placard online sports betting brand.
The funding for 2022 reached €61.7m, dwarfing the €35.7m in funding allocated to federations by the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth (IPDJ). The last two years were the most profitable for federations, which receive 37.5 per cent of online gaming revenue and 3.5 per cent of retail revenue under decrees n.º 314 and 315/2015.
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) is the organisation that most benefited, having received €146m – around 60 per cent of all funding – in the last five years. Its share from online sports betting hit €25.5m in 2021 and €23.7m in 2022. The funds, which represent between 25 and 30 per cent of its federal budget for each season, are invested in promoting football, team activities, support for members and the organisation of amateur football, futsal and beach football.
The Portuguese gambling regulator, the Serviço de Regulação Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), has reported that the country generated gambling revenue of €159.1m in 2022 Q3. The figure was up 39.9 per cent year-on-year.
Online casino revenue was up 38.5 per cent year-on-year to €89.8m. That’s a rise from the €81.8m recorded in the previous quarter and makes Q3 the fifth straight quarter in which online casino revenue has surpassed previous records.
Players staked €2.48bn on online casino games, also a record and up 39.1 per cent year-on-year. The most popular online product was slots, which accounted for 80 per cent of stakes, followed by French roulette (7.6 per cent), blackjack (4.9 per cent) and Banca Française (3.6 per cent).
