Last week, Portugal’s gambling authority, SRIJ, reported that the last three months of 2017 were particularly good, and noted that sports betting played a big part in the results. A surge in online sports betting meant that the combined revenue generated from the country’s seven locally-licensed online gambling operators was €36.5 million, €7 million higher than the third quarter of the year and €10 million higher than the same period in 2016. Total revenue for the year was a very good €122.6 million, of which 44.2% went to the government. It should be reminded that the Portuguese government earns well thanks to a 12% tax on sports betting turnover.
Focusing on sports betting, the online industry generated €20.5 million in the last quarter of the year, making a new quarterly record. This number was also 26% higher than the third quarter of 2017. Overall, sports revenue hit €68.1 million – more than half the overall market.
Out of the wagers placed on sports online:
- Three-quarters were placed on football.
- 12.4% was placed on tennis.
- 8.5% was placed on basketball.
Licensed online gambling operators signed up over 130,000 new customers in the fourth quarter of the year, and there are now 800,000 Portuguese online gamblers signed up to sites. Just over 60% of registered places fall in the 25 to 44 year age bracket.