Even if we have seen that in the world of online gaming, Portugal presented an unsatisfactory record in the first quarter of 2018, the fact remains that online poker is increasingly attracting this country. .

The Portuguese online gaming market

It is a booming market that continues to expand. The Portuguese online games market is indeed developing considerably and since 2017, we have been able to witness glorious times for the country with a year that has been particularly fruitful. But, even if this sector is on the right track, the fact remains that the first quarter of 2018 was rather disappointing and worrying, posting an unsatisfactory result. Indeed, we have seen that the statistics are down compared to the last quarter of last year and that state taxation is finally called into question.

A market not yet very ripe

We were able to witness glorious beginnings which remain rather legitimate, given that the Portuguese online games business is still very young and rather new, since it was only launched in May 2016. Full of potential and in full development, this market has continued to experience remarkable growth since those beginnings and each quarter was therefore a blatant success. However, this will not prevent it from suffering a decrease for the start of 2018.

The reasons for the decline of the online games market in Portugal are however identified and we know more or less why the business is not so good, while the Portuguese administration has authorized the trade of virtual games. An opportunity here to see some national operators breaking their teeth a little on this business in which they hoped to find their cruising speed fairly quickly.

These same operators are in fact brandishing a culprit: this is mainly due, according to them, to excessive taxation. This in fact generates the benefits obtained which are therefore slightly mediocre, thereby limiting the number of operators active in the country. Rather small, there will in fact be only seven operators in all, who are trying to share a piece of the pie and who at the same time demand the revision of this taxation which limits them, to this day, to doing “only” 33, 8 million turnover.

A significant drop in sports betting

It is therefore sports betting that is more or less affected by this regression. We have indeed seen that their turnover for the first quarter of 2018 actually shows a balance sheet of only 17.4 million euros; a substantial sum of money for this turnover, but which does not exceed at all that acquired during the first quarter last, marking here a rather stagnant figure compared to this period. But if the numbers are dropping, the most dynamic field in this branch remains football which governs 75% of this figure on its own. A godsend, however, when we know that the World Cup, which will take place from June 14 to July 15, 2018 in Russia, will start soon. An opportunity to perhaps see operators fill their pockets a little more,

An area that suffers from instability in Portugal

This gambling sector, unlike the gaming sector such as poker, which we will return to below, suffers from instability. This does not prevent online casinos from earning good revenues for this first quarter of 2018. The regulator SRIJ (ServiçoRegulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal) even noticed, for the occasion, a growth of 18% compared to the first quarter of 2017 for these online gaming establishments. These virtual game platforms actually raised € 16.4 million; which proves that online games therefore remain a more or less unstable asset on the Portuguese market, but nevertheless necessary. But to make them a little more profitable, operators have no other choice than to ask for a relaxation of taxes from the state.

The Portuguese online poker market

It is a market which, unlike online sports betting, is expanding widely in Portugal. We must admit that we have seen that European countries remain more and more active in the online poker sector. We are witnessing here a formula that is opening up more and more with Portuguese players who will join those from Spain and our French neighbors. Portugal can therefore really find here an ideal opportunity to access and benefit from the many development prospects in the field.

Poker in constant evolution

Indeed, Portuguese players are no longer satisfied with a single offer nowadays and will therefore ally themselves with their Spanish and French neighbors through a system that has been officially put in place to satisfy the majority of consumers. The main stakeholders who will therefore have the opportunity here to benefit from a greater attendance than usual and to benefit, in a concrete way, from the advantages which are undeniable in terms of offers and demands in gambling .