Portugal’s online gaming market experienced activity this quarter, as bettors sought to alleviate the boredom of the pandemic blockade.
The figures published on Monday through the regulator Servicao Regulacao e Inspecao de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) show that online gaming licensees generated revenue of only 139 million euros in the first part of 2020, 44.2% more than at the same time last year.
Portugal’s online marketplaceplace began the year on a strong note, establishing a new turnover of 69.8 million euros in the first quarter despite the suspension in March of the main sports due to COVID-19. But SRIJ says the market spot experienced “significant variations” in the game’s revenue in April and May as pandemic boredom is installed.
Sports revenues amounted to 90.7 million euros in the second quarter, compared to 149 million euros in the first quarter, and sales fell to just 7.7 million euros in April before returning to its pre-pandemic form in June. Betting revenues amounted to 20.7 million euros, or about 60% of the total in the first quarter.
Revenue from online casinos (including poker) reached 48.4 million euros, compared to 35.3 million euros in the first quarter, with revenues increased from 38.6% to 1.33 billion euros. In the first part of 2020, revenue from online casinos increased by 74.4% to 2.290 million euros, peaking in April with 479.3 million euros, almost one hundred million euros more than in March. Revenues fell to 468.3 million euros in May and then returned to 372 million euros in June.
Interestingly, while slot machines continued to account for most online casino games, their percentage fell to their lowest point (61.7%) April, the month in which online casino spending peaked. That month, the percentage of online poker casino spend peaked at 14.4% before returning to earth in May (10.7%) June (8.7%).
The market saw its maximum number of new visitors registered in March at 60,000, falling in April (53,200) and May (33,500) before emerging to 43,600 in June.
The SRIJ noted that, despite the fact that Portugal’s online market “is not very mature”, “it has proven capable and capable of … to resist and adapt in a moment of wonderful change.” By June, the market had resumed “slow and slow activity, returning to game patterns” before the pandemic began.
In April, Portuguese politicians passed a law authorizing the government to identify “partial or general restrictions on access to online gaming platforms” during the pandemic. However, the government never acted on this plan, as the state of emergency had been lifted since the Ministry of Economy began to determine how the measure would be imposed.
The contract welcomed another licensee this quarter, as Bidluck SA received an online casino license for its Bidluck.pt site.
In May, sriJ ran a highly productive practice manual for gambling advertising, which banned radio and television ads between 7 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., as well as ads within the part one hour before and after a children’s program.
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