Portugal’s iGaming Market Up 8% to €33m in Q1 2018

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Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 | Written by Shane Larson

For the first quarter of 2018, Portugal’s regulated internet gambling industry generated €33 million ($40.4m) in revenue, with that figure representing a 7.8% increase compared to the same period in 2017. Helping to give the country’s market a boost was its online casinos, which were up by 18% year-on-year, while the sports-betting segment failed to impress and remained flat, according to the figures released by Portugal’s gambling regulator, SRIJ.

The government subsequently collected €11.2 million by way of taxes, or around one-third of the online gambling pie.

Player Numbers

During the quarter, 89,300 new accounts were opened, or 22.6k less than in Q1 of 2017, with total registrations now reaching 890k. From that tally, players aged between 25-44 accounted for 61.5% of registered online customers, while those in the 18-24 age group made up a further 27.2% of all players. Meanwhile, 2.4%, or 21.1k of total registrations have since chosen to self-exclude over problem gambling concerns.

Sports Betting Flat

Online sports betting experienced a quiet first quarter, with its revenue flat versus Q1 of 2017, and lower by €3 million compared to the previous quarter. Helping to explain a lack of growth in the market is the country’s 12% online tax rate on sports betting turnover rather than revenue, which has undermined efforts to channel gamblers to domestically licensed sites.

Nevertheless, the vertical is still Portugal’s biggest earner and from January to March 31st its five licensed online sports operators collected an impressive €17.4 million in revenue. Leading the segment in Q1 was soccer with a dominant 75% share of the market, followed by basketball (10.6%) and tennis (9.6%).

Online Casinos Soar

Meanwhile, Portugal’s online casino market is booming and in Q1 its seven licensed online casinos saw their revenues spike by 18% to €16.4 million, with the three extra licenses granted over the past year providing a boost to the numbers. As expected, online slots accounted for the lion’s share of the segment and commanded a whopping 55.7% of overall casino revenue, followed by poker (18.6%), French Roulette (16.1%) and finally blackjack (9.6%).

Poker Drops 33%

In Q1, online poker collected €3 million in revenue, marking a massive 33% fall compared to the €4.7 million generated in Q1 of 2017. Equally troubling is the fact that the country’s lone poker operator, PokerStars.pt, recorded its lowest revenue amount since entering the market back in November 2016. During Q1 of 2018, online poker accounted for 18.6% of online casino revenues, of which cash games boasted a 14% share, and tournaments just 4.55%.

European Shared Liquidity

France and Spain started sharing poker player liquidity at the start of 2018, and over the ensuing months the former has seen its gross gaming revenue increase by 8%. Positive developments are expected soon on the horizon for Portugal’s online poker market, too, after the country joined the shared European liquidity network on May 26th, enabling their players to now compete against opponents located in Spain and France. Commenting at the time, Stars Group’s CEO Guy Templer stated:

“We have worked hard to become the first operator to bring the benefits of shared liquidity to Portugal. Our players will see a huge increase in the variety and scale of our tournaments and promotions and will enjoy more excitement, more competition and more fun!”

While this should provide Portugal’s online poker market with a boost going into Q2, a number of wrinkles still need to be ironed out, not least of which includes Portugal’s refusal to allow PokerStars to charge a rake above 5% for its regular cash games. As a result, PokerStars hopes to offer shared cash games in the future once regulations are sorted out, but in the meantime just its poker tournaments will be open to French and Spanish players.

To celebrate the arrival of Portuguese players to Europe’s new online poker alliance, PokerStars, which has a presence in all three countries, has announced a special promotion called the Trio Series. The tournament series will run from June 3-13, with €5 million ($5.83m) in guarantees offered throughout its 78-event schedule, of which €500,000 will be added to the prize pool of its €250 Main Event.

Finally, Italy signed an agreement to become part of the shared liquidity pact in April of 2016. However, the country still has to smooth over a number of issues before being able to progress further on the issue, including addressing money laundering concerns raised by local politicians.