Portugal legalized gambling and online sports betting six years ago, but the first license, to Betclic, was only granted in May 2016.
Over these five years, the state has pocketed nearly €400 million in special tax on online gambling (IEJO), according to the information published this Monday by Jornal de Notícias (JN).
Currently, the number of licensed entities rises to 15 and the gross revenues - which deduct the paid prizes from the betting volume - exceed one billion euros.
According to data from the Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ), cited by JN, gross revenue from online gaming amounts to €1,005.7 million until March this year, while tax revenue for the State in IEJO totals €398.2 million.
In the last year alone, the gross revenue of operators legalized in the virtual market grew 82.6%, while the taxes collected almost tripled, mainly due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic on land-based gambling.
Currently, the main challenge is to fight illegal bookmakers. These platforms allow under-18s to register and use public personalities to gain credibility. “The bookmakers and experts want the law to be reformulated to fight illegal bookmakers,” as JN says.
The humorist Alexandre Santos and former football players José Calado and Nuno Gomes have already advertised illegal houses in Portugal.
APAJO calls for a change in the law and a greater commitment from Banco de Portugal and SIBS, since these illegal operators accept payment by ATM reference or MB Way.
Source: GMB
