Portugal reports double-digit growth in GGR in Q4
Regulator SRIJ sees strong increases in sports betting and online casino verticals, alongside a 15% YoY jump in monthly active players
Portugal’s regulator, SRIJ, has revealed licensed operators in the Iberian nation posted a collective 42% year on year (YoY) increase in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the final quarter of 2024.
The figure stood at €323m, up from €227.4m in Q4 2023, and was also a 21.2% increase from the Q3’s return of €266.3m
Sports betting GGR soared 90% YoY to €138.3m, with total stakes across all licensed firms hitting €544.7m, a slight increase of 0.3% YoY.
GGR also rose 51.7% versus Q3’s posting of €91.2m, while total stakes were up 10% against Q3.
Continuing previous market trends, football remained the outright leader in terms the most-popular sport to bet on, accounting for 75% of stakes.
The UEFA Champions League and Portuguese Primeira Liga represented the highest volume of bets at 10.7% each, followed by the English Premier League at 10.1%.
The next most-popular sport was tennis at 10.5%, with the Rolex Paris Masters and Rolex Shanghai Masters receiving the highest number of bets at 13.4% of all tennis bets combined.
Basketball came in third at 10.2%, with the National Basketball Association (NBA) recording 51.6% of the bets.
Casino revenue for Q4 revenue increased 19.5% YoY to €30.1m and jumped 5.5% from the Q3 figure of €175.1m.
Players bet €5.1bn on online casino, demonstrating growth of 21.1% YoY, with online slots continuing to be the most-popular game, with 80.2% of all stakes.
SRIJ added that Banca Francesa (5.4%), roulette (5.3%) and blackjack (4.8%) were the next most-popular casino games during the reporting period.
In total, there are 4.7 million active players in the country as of 31 December, compared to 4.1 million as of 31 December 2023, or a 15% spike.
During the quarter, 16,200 players self-excluded from licensed sites, taking the total number of self-excluded players in Portugal to 292,400.
The regulator said that over 2024, a total 77,400 players self-excluded, taking total registration up by 36% YoY.
Finally, Q4 saw 41 closure notifications sent to illegal operators with 112 sites blocks implemented.
There are still currently 13 operators licensed to offer online sports betting and 17 firms holding an online casino licence. The total number of licensees remains at 30.