Portugal’s Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ) recently released its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023, revealing important data about the betting market in the country.
According to the SRIJ, online self-exclusion registrations reached 215,000 in the period in question. But gross revenue from online games grew by more than 16% compared to the previous year, reaching 227.4 million euros.
However, not all sectors had positive results. Revenue from land-based games fell by almost 4%, contrasting with the increase in online betting.
Football continues to lead betting in Portugal
In 17 licensed gambling operators and 13 licensed bookmakers, gambling revenues increased significantly, reaching 154.5 million euros. The growth was 40.7% compared to the previous year.
Revenue from physical sports betting fell 14.8%, totaling €72.8 million. By type of game, slots led the betting games, below is the percentage of each one of the total:
- Slots – 83% of the total
- French roulette – 6.9%
- Blackjack – 4,7%
- Dice games – 3.3%
- Poker – 1,2%
- Torneios de Poker – 0,8%
In sports betting, football was the most bet sport, with 74.7%, followed by basketball (10.8%) and tennis (9.7%), other sports totaled 4.8%.
Increase in bingo halls in the country
The total number of players during the fourth quarter was 4.1 million, an increase of 15.7% compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, the number of new player registrations increased by 6.3%, reaching 319,500.
However, the number of players who self-excluded in Portugal during the reporting period rose by 41.6% to reach 215,000.
The country’s land sector also had its figures released, with revenues of 64.6 million euros in the fourth quarter. This represents a drop of 3.9% compared to the same period of the previous year.
In physical casinos, roulette led revenue with 30.4%, followed by baccarat (26.5%), blackjack (20.2%), dice games (14.8%) and poker (7%). Bingo halls had a 3.4% increase in revenue, totaling 7.44 million euros.
The number of requests to ban access to casino gaming rooms also saw a significant drop. There were 139 orders in the fourth quarter, a reduction of 26.46% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Therefore, overall, the betting market in Portugal showed mixed results in the fourth quarter of 2023.