Portugals digital gambling income achieved an unprecedented peak of €195.3 million (£173 million/$213 million) in the final quarter of 2022, with both athletic wagering and gaming sectors establishing new highs.
Overall earnings for the three-month period ending December 31, 2022, expanded by 39.7% annually to €139.8 million, also surpassing the prior quarter’s record of €158.2 million in the third quarter of 2022 by 23.4%.
Online Casinos
Casinos were the primary source of income for the quarter, based on data from the regulatory body, the Gambling Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ), with total revenue reaching €109.8 million, up 48.3% year-on-year and 23.8% quarter-on-quarter.
Consumer spending on online casinos attained a record €2.98 billion in the final quarter, up 42.1% annually.
Slot machines were by far the most favored form of online casino, drawing in 79.8% of all wagers, followed by French roulette with 8.5% of wagers and twenty-one with 5.5% of wagers.
Sports Betting
Shifting to the athletic wagering market, revenue increased by 30.0% annually to €85.5 million, also surpassing the prior quarter’s record of €69.6 million in the third quarter of 2022 by 22.9%.
Player spending reached an unprecedented high of €4.587 billion, up 21%.
During the final three months of 2021, the sport of football made up six percent of all sports wagers, representing 74.2 percent of all bets placed. Basketball constituted 12.5 percent, tennis accounted for 7.6 percent, and other sports made up 5.7 percent.
In terms of football wagering activity, the 2022 FIFA World Cup represented 25.0 percent of all bets, the UEFA Champions League accounted for 7.4 percent, the Portuguese Primeira Liga made up 6.9 percent, and the English Premier League represented 6.4 percent.
**Broader Market**
Additional data released by SRIJ indicates that 340,000 new participants registered with authorized operators by the end of the last quarter, with 60.0 percent of players between the ages of 25 and 44.
The number of individuals who have opted out of gambling increased by 41,500 annually, reaching 150,900 by the end of the quarter.
Moreover, SRIJ stated that they issued 54 notices of closure to unauthorized operators in the final three months and issued 74 blocking orders against these websites.
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