The Portuguese Gambling Regulatory and Inspection Authority (SRIJ) recently published the online gambling industry performance report for the second quarter of 2025, showing that the industry as a whole continues to grow, while regulatory efforts are continuously strengthened.
During the reporting period, there were 17 licensed operators holding 30 valid licenses, with total revenue reaching 287 million euros (approximately 316 million US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 9.6%. Among them, the special online gaming tax (IEJO) contributed 81.2 million euros to the national treasury.
In terms of business structure, lucky games remain the market pillar, accounting for 62% of total revenue, reaching 177.8 million euros, a year-on-year increase of 12.2%. Sports betting accounts for 38%, with revenue of 109.2 million euros, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%, but a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 5%.
In terms of betting amounts, the total for sports betting was 457.3 million euros, a slight year-on-year decline of 1.1%, and a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 8.9%; in contrast, lucky gaming betting amounts reached 5.04 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 15.4%, and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 8%.
Football remains the core of the Portuguese gambling market, with betting amounts accounting for 67.7%; followed by tennis (21.8%) and basketball (6.5%). In lucky games, slot machines are the most popular, accounting for 79.1% of total betting amounts, while French bank games and French roulette account for 7% and 5.3%, respectively.
As of the end of the quarter, the total number of registered players had reached 4.87 million, a year-on-year increase of 9.9%, with 211,000 new accounts. Active players numbered 1.12 million, a year-on-year decrease of 2.6%. The player age structure is relatively young: 77.8% of registered users are under 45 years old, with the 25-34 age group accounting for the largest proportion, at 33.5%.
In terms of regional distribution, the Lisbon area (21.7%) and Porto area (21.1%) have the highest proportion of registered numbers. In terms of nationality, local players account for 94.6%, with Brazilian players leading among international registered users, accounting for 49%.
The use of self-exclusion mechanisms is also on the rise, with registered numbers reaching 326,400, a year-on-year increase of 27%. This reflects the player community's gradually increasing focus on responsible gambling.
On the regulatory level, SRIJ continues to advance the crackdown on illegal gambling. In this quarter alone, 97 closure notices were issued to illegal operators, and 110 unauthorized websites were blocked. Since the implementation of the relevant legal framework in 2015, the authorities have issued a total of 1,522 notices, blocked 2,501 websites, and transferred 49 cases to the prosecution authorities, one of which occurred in the second quarter of this year.
It is worth noting that, with football still dominating the market, gambling companies are also increasing their sports sponsorship arrangements. For example, Betano recently reached a naming sponsorship agreement with Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, further consolidating its market influence.
Overall, the Portuguese online gambling market continues to grow in terms of revenue and user scale, with lucky games performing prominently; at the same time, regulatory authorities are continuously increasing enforcement efforts to ensure healthy market development.
