Portuguese gamblers wager through unlicensed operators

A new report commissioned by a commission estimated that 68 percent of gamblers wager through unlicensed online operators.

Portugal.- The Remote Gambling Association commissioned a report that revealed that 68 percent of Portuguese online gamblers do so through unlicensed operators in the country. The report leaves an alarming amount of unanswered questions regarding online gambling regulation in Portugal.

The report, which was based on an online gamblers survey, said that it shows that the Portuguese legislation has not achieved one of its key objectives, namely reducing the unregulated offer. The local gambling regulator, Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) gave away its first online license in 2016, a year after the government approved a regulated online gambling market.

Pierre Tournier, Director of Government Relations at the RGA, said: “The legal regime for online gambling that was adopted in 2015 is clearly failing to combat the unregulated market and change is much needed to make the regulation work. We strongly believe that the Portuguese government should follow examples of other European countries that have successfully regulated the sector by adopting a GGR-based tax and waiving some of the restrictions such as the sports catalogue, which would attract more operators in Portugal.”

Moreover, the report reveals that whilst 38 percent of locals wager through online operators, 30 percent do so on both licensed and unlicensed, only 39 percent of them gambling on online operators licensed by the local regulator. People surveyed said that offshore operators offer better odds than local operators.