Portugal’s online gambling industry crushed it last year—and Q4, in particular. The country set a new record for online gambling revenue, which amounted to €227.4 million. These findings aren’t very surprising, as the country has been reporting rising figures for six consecutive quarters.
The previous quarter—Q3—set a record for Portugal, as it reached €215.4 million. Therefore, the revenue for the new quarter shows a 5.6% rise in comparison to Q3 and a 16.4% improvement when compared to the fourth quarter in 2022.
As far as the exact places where Portugal’s residents spend their money go, they get to choose from a plethora of online casinos. Many of them are UK-regulated, as the UKGC is one of the most trusted gambling licence providers in the world, and focus on player safety, which is best seen through the self-exclusion option.
Make no mistake—this doesn’t mean that a non-GAMSTOP casino isn’t safe, as online casinos that aren’t from the UK can be fully licensed and insured.
That being said, you will want to take all the necessary measures of precaution which will ensure that you play in the best online casinos only. Do your research by reading plenty of online reviews and register only when certain you have found a secure place.
Judging by the numbers, Portugal’s residents have no problem doing so. Of all gambling-related revenue, the share of online casino games was €154.5 million, which is a 40.7% increase in comparison to the year prior.
Online casino patrons weren’t exactly frugal, as they spent €3.84 billion playing their favorite games. Unsurprisingly, slot machines—one of the most popular games worldwide—were the star of the show, as they drew 83% of all these bets.
They were followed by French roulette, which garnered 6.9% of the earnings, and blackjack, which contributed 4.7%. Other dice games and poker were responsible for the remaining spending.
Interestingly enough, while online gambling might be on the rise, one other segment is going through a decline in revenue—sports betting. Portugal’s revenue from sports betting was down by 14.8%, but player spending rose by 16.0%. Players spent more than €542 million on sports betting, which positively affected the economy.
Judging by the percentages, football is Portugal’s most popular sport to bet on. Almost 75% of all people who bet on sports did so by wagering on football. Basketball and tennis seem to be almost equally popular, with 10.8% and 9.7% of people betting on these sports, respectively.
While Portugal’s online gambling sector is thriving, the same can’t be said for the land-based market. Once we compare Q4 for 2023 and Q4 for 2022, a 3.9% drop in revenue becomes evident. The land-based market in Portugal got revenue of 64.6% at the end of 2023, while the revenue for the same period in 2022 amounted to 67.2%.
Slot machines remain the biggest attraction in brick-and-mortar casinos, as they are responsible for 79.7% of total Q4 revenue.
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