Gross online gambling revenue in Portugal reached a record €323 million (around R$1.9 billion) during the fourth quarter of 2024. Growth was driven by a significant addition to the country’s sports betting market.
The numbers are growing every year. The total for the final fourth quarter of 2024 surpassed the year 2023 by 42%. The year, breaking the previous record, grew 21.3% more than the existing record of €266.3 million.
The historic milestone reached by overall revenue had an important highlight. According to data published last Tuesday (18), by the regulator Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), the numbers reflect the record performances of the sports betting and online casino segments.
Sports betting revenue nearly doubles in Q4
A closer look at the sports betting figures in Portugal shows that revenue reached €138.3 million (around R$850 million). This represents an incredible 90% year-on-year increase. It is also significantly higher than the €91.2 million (R$560 million) reported in Q3 2023.
Consumers wagered €533.7 million during the fourth quarter, compared with €532.1 million a year earlier. Of this, 75% was spent on football. Another 10.5% was wagered on tennis, 10.2% on basketball and 4.3% on other sports.
Online casino revenue up 19.5%
As for online casinos, revenue in the country reached €184.6 million. Once again, online slots proved to be the most popular among players, attracting 80.2% of all bets.
The second most popular was the French Bank dice game with a 5.4% share, followed by French roulette at 5.3% and blackjack at 4.8%.
Total active players in Portugal
Along with financial data, SRIJ also published information on gambler behavior. In total, 4.7 million people bet online at some point during the final fourth quarter of 2024, a 15% increase from the previous year.
However, around 614,800 new registrations are reported during the period, an increase of 15%, compared to 2023. The majority of these were between 18 and 24 years old, although the most popular age group for online gaming remains between 25 and 34 years old.
Furthermore, regarding self-exclusion, 16,200 people chose not to gamble online in the fourth quarter. In other words, by the end of the quarter, a total of 292,400 people in Portugal had been self-excluded.
In addition, the regulator issued 41 closure notices to sites in an irregular situation.
