Online gambling and betting revenue exceeds € 100 million

The growth cycle that online gambling and gambling is feeling is never ending, and for the most part Issued by the game organizing and checking service (SRIJ), the entity that oversees and regulates online gambling activity in Portugal, in the fourth and final quarter of 2020 is evidence of this.

In the fourth quarter of last year alone, the online gambling and betting sector generated nearly € 113.2 million in total revenue, a value that was 48.4 million (+ 74.7%) higher than in the same period in 2019 and 29.1 million more than the previous period. quarter.

Of the 113.2 million euros, the lion’s share belongs to sports betting with a total revenue of 64.1 million euros (56.6%), while games of chance are 49.1 million (43.4%), an increase of 18 million over the same period last year. .

The massive increase in total revenue generated by this activity has had a very positive impact on the taxes that the country collects. According to the SRIJ report, the total value of the IEJO tax in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 39.9 million euros, which is 4.1 million euros higher than in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The bet size is close to 2 billion euros

Another fact that stands out from the analysis of the new SRIJ report is the extraordinary growth in the volume of bets, whether in sports betting, games of chance or online gambling.

In the case of online sports betting, in the reference period, the betting volume was 345.4 million euros, an increase of 159.7 million over the same period in 2019 and 122.6 million compared to the same period in 2019. compared to the previous quarter.

Similar growth has been recorded, albeit in higher numbers, in the online games of chance. In this category, the fourth quarter of 2020 achieved a betting volume of 1409.5 million euros, equivalent to 555.3 million euros compared to the same period in 2019, and an increase of 227.6 million compared to the previous quarter.

Thus, in the two categories, the size of the stakes approached the stratosphere figure of 2 billion euros, of 1754.9 million euros.

Slot machines and football are still the favorites of bookmakers

Most of the volume of bets registered in both categories reveals that football, in sports betting and slot machines, as well as games of chance, were the “games” that won the hearts of more bettors during the fourth quarter of last year.

As mentioned, football was the sport with the most bets scored, with 86.72% of all sports bets made. Basketball and tennis came second and third with a market share of 5.21% and 4.86%.

On the online gaming category, the percentage of slot machines was 71.14%, followed by French roulette at 12.64%, blackjack 6.41% and non-poker at 4.20%.

New player registration growth of 79.2%

It is not surprising to anyone that online betting has already taken its place in Portuguese society. From developing apps that stimulate the game from a smartphone to the information you can actually find on sites like Bet on the Internet Which promotes healthy and informed online game play, offers bonuses and analyzes the largest sports betting houses and online casinos located in Portugal such as Betano.

All this leads to statistics on the number of new player registrations that show a 79.2% growth in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

In practice, the registration of 293.8 thousand new players in the group of 15 licensed entities was verified in Portugal, with an increase of 139.9 thousand players compared to the same period in 2019 and an increase of 137 thousand players from the previous quarter.

Looking at the total number of players, the report shows that in the last quarter of 2020 gambling, that is, at least one bet in games of chance or online sports betting, was observed at around 675,000. Players.

Of these, 42.7% wagered exclusively on sports betting odds, 28.7% exclusively on games of chance, and 28% were split into two categories.

A final word on the age of gamblers. The age group that staked the most was 25-44 with a 61.4% share, followed by the 18-24 age group with 22.9%. In terms of new registrations that occurred in the quarter under analysis, 65.7% of them were reported for players under the age of 35.