Online sports betting outshone its casino rival in Portugal’s regulated market during the third quarter of 2020, with wagering revenue more than doubling from Q2.
Figures released Monday by the Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) regulatory body show that locally licensed online gambling operators generated revenue of €84.2m in the three months ending September 30, up 55.7% from the same period last year and 21.6% better than the market reported in Q2 2020.
The Q3 figure represents a new high-water mark for Portugal’s regulated online market, easily surpassing the €70.2m reported in the first quarter of this year. The number of newly registered customers improved 5.2% year-on-year to 156,800, while quarterly active customers gained more than one-third to 473,200.
Sports betting led the Q3 charge, driven by the resumption of major league activity following spring’s pandemic halt. Pent-up demand pushed betting revenue to a record €42.5m, more than double the Q2 total and nearly two-thirds higher year-on-year. Betting turnover was also in a record-setting mood, nearly doubling year-on-year to €222.8m.
Online casino revenue totaled €41.7m, up nearly 48% year-on-year but a major step down from its Q2 record of €47.9m. Online casino turnover was up nearly three-fifths year-on-year but fell 10% sequentially.
Slots captured over 70% of the overall online casino pie, with roulette (13.8%) and blackjack (6.1%) well back of the leader. Poker cash games claimed a 4.8% slice, while tournaments added another 1.9%.
Just under 45% of Portuguese online gamblers bet exclusively on sports in Q3, while one-third played only casino games and a hybrid core of 22% played both sides of the field.
The SRIJ’s war on internationally licensed online gambling sites continued unabated, with 83 domains forwarded to local internet service providers for blocking and another 29 official GTFO notices issued to unauthorized operators (14 of which were forwarded to the appropriate government ministry for further action).
The SRIJ issued one additional online sports betting license (to Solverde) during Q3, while Skill On Net Ltd received an online casino diploma for its Bacanaplay.pt site in late-October. There are currently 15 operators holding a total of 25 separate licenses issued by the SRIJ.
