Figures released by the national regulator Turismo de Portugal Games Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ) show that the total online revenue during the three months to 31 December 2020 was up 74.7% from € 64.8 million in the 4th quarter of 2019.

Sports betting went past casino games to become the main source of revenue for licensed operators in Portugal, with revenues from sports betting of 89.6% last year to € 64.1 million.

Players bet a total of € 345.6 million on sports, up 86.0% compared to 2019, with football as the most popular sport to bet on, accounting for 86.7% of all games placed in the quarter. Basketball followed in a distant second with 5.2% of the games, then tennis at 4.9%.

Online casino revenue reached € 49.1 million in the 4th quarter, an increase of 57.9% from the same period in 2019 and the second consecutive growth quarter for this segment of the market.

Consumption expenditure in this market increased by 70.0% to 1.41 billion euros. Around 71.1% of online casino games were attributed to slot machines in the 4th quarter, with roulette accounting for € 12.6% of games, blackjack 6.4% and poker 4.2%.

Players spent a total of € 1.76 billion playing online in the fourth quarter, up 69.2% from the previous year.
Some 293,800 new players signed up for accounts during the quarter, an increase of 79.3% from the same period in 2019. SRIJ noted that another 10,300 people signed up to exclude themselves from gambling, with the total number on the list eventually of the 4th quarter at 72,400.

SRIJ also said that it blocked access to a further 49 sites that had been in operation without the relevant approvals in the 4th quarter, while a further 15 sites were ordered to stop activities in the country.
Since the regulator began implementing measures against unlicensed websites in June 2015, around 675 blocking orders have been distributed, as well as 680 alerts to stop operations.