Expanding online gambling scene in Portugal: Surge of online casinos propels total gaming income to €227.4 million in Q4/2023
The boom in Portugal's online gambling industry continues unabated. The last quarter of 2023 saw a 5.6% surge in gaming revenues for virtual gambling platforms over the previous record set in the third quarter, reaching a staggering 227.4 million euros. However, the trend of self-exclusions is also on the rise.
Online casinos driving growth
Approximately 154.4 million euros of the sector's revenue came from online casinos, which include slot machines, blackjack, roulette, and poker as per the data provided by industry publication iGaming Business.
Overall, players spent a whopping 3.84 billion euros on online casino games, marking a substantial 28.7% increase compared to the previous year. Even the gross gaming revenues saw a dramatic 40.7% rise, hinting at potentially higher profits for online casinos in 2023.
Smaller margins for sports betting providers
Conversely, the outlook for online sports betting is slightly different. Although player spending soared to 532.1 million euros, up 16% year-on-year, gross gaming revenues for bookmakers dipped from 85.4 million to 72.8 million euros.
The decline in revenues could be due to various factors, including intense competition, generous customer bonuses, and high odds, potentially squeezing the profit margins.
More registrations and self-exclusions
By the end of the last quarter of 2023, Portugal had 4.2 million active gambling accounts. This quarter saw a significant 319,500 new account registrations, as opposed to the 237,600 new accounts in the same period the previous year.
Simultaneously, the number of players choosing the self-exclusion option to lock their accounts and cease gambling also witnessed a jump. In the last quarter of 2023, 215,000 players opted for self-exclusion, an increase of 18,400 from the previous quarter and 63,200 more than the same quarter in 2022.
Portugal's relentless fight against illegal gambling sites
The Serviço de Regulação e Inspecção de Jogos (SRIJ), the Portuguese gambling regulatory body, barred 23 unlicensed operators from operating their websites in the last quarter, continuing its tradition of taking decisive action against such websites and even blocking their accessibility through network blocking if necessary.
However, it's rare that the masterminds behind these websites face criminal prosecution. In comparison, Germany does not yet have such recourse against illegal gambling websites, but it now permits the blocking of payments to unlicensed gambling providers.
The increase in self-exclusions could potentially lead to a decrease in news about record-breaking gaming revenues from the online gambling industry in Portugal.
The surge in gaming revenues and new account registrations in the online gambling industry has resulted in an influx of news about Portugal's thriving digital gaming sector.
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