Portuguese gambling watchdog, the Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), released the figures for the year's third quarter, revealing a solid year-on-year increase in online gaming revenue.
For the three-month period ending on September 30, online gaming revenue in Portugal was €29.3 million, which is a jump of 21.5% when compared to the same period in 2016.
SRIJ cited sports betting as the driving force behind the growth, with a 16.6% increase in revenue over the second quarter.
Sports Betting Leads the Way
Sports betting revenue amounted to €16.3 million, mainly due to the beginning of the new football season. This sport was by far the most popular one among the bettors, accounting for 78% of all bets made online during this period.
€7.1 million in sports revenue generated during September was just €200,000 short from this year's best result of €7.3 million, recorded at the start of 2017, in January.
Online casino revenue in the third quarter was at €13.1 million, which represents a jump of 15% in comparison with the previous three-month period, but less than the result achieved in the first three months of this year.
More Licenses to Be Awarded Soon
Video slots are still the main source of income in the local online casino market, accounting for 42% of the total internet casino revenue in Q3.
In the first nine months of the year, total online betting revenue was €86.3 million, with €47.7 million coming from sports betting, and €38.4 million from online casino gaming.
Analysts say we could see a rise in number in the near future, especially since the local online market is expecting an expansion as SRIJ gets ready to grant more licences to operators.
The last online gambling license, the ninth one in total, was awarded in September to Casino Portugal, owned by Sociedade Figueira Praia, a domestic casino operator.
Portugal’s regulated online market was launched in June 2016, while the biggest obstacle in its development is the extremely high industry’s tax rates.
