Portuguese trade body launches criminal complaints against unlicensed operators
APAJO takes aim at eight companies as well as several social media stars for their alleged roles in driving consumers to offshore businesses
The Portuguese Association of Betting and Online Games (APAJO) has filed criminal complaints against several unlicensed operators, including Stake, amid warnings of “misinformation” in the market.
The trade body said it had filed the complaints against the operators for offering gambling with a licence in Portugal.
Alongside Stake, APAJO said Betify, Monro, Weiss, Wolfi, Starda, Vem Bet and Leicester City’s front-of-shirt sponsor BC.Game all had criminal complaints filed against them.
In addition to targeting operators, the trade body said similar complaints had been made against social media influencers for promoting unlicensed firms.
Those include Numeiro, who has more than 800,000 Instagram followers, and streamers GodMota and Ritinha Youtuber.
The criminal complaints come amid a wider push from APAJO, with the trade body concerned social media and traditional broadcasters are not informing the public about the risks of the black market.
APAJO said that if public figures direct consumers to unlicensed sites it would constitute an offence, and that an “ignorance of the legislation” was not an exemption excuse.
The trade body has implored members of the public and those in public positions to consult the list of licensed operators in Portugal to ensure they are adhering to the country’s gambling regulations.
APAJO said: “Operators licensed to operate in Portugal are subject to a very complete and demanding list of consumer protection requirements and are very closely supervised by the Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service. The list of operators is present on the agency’s website.
“One of the most worrying inaccuracies reported this week by television commentators was the identification of at least one unlicensed operator as legitimate.”
Ricardo Domingues, APAJO president, added: “The annual study promoted by APAJO revealed in the last edition that only 37.7% of players who bet on illegal websites or applications seem to be aware that they are doing so.
“The majority, 62.3%, declare they do not play with illegal operators or do not know if they do. It is very critical that the Portuguese media are clear and accurate with the information provided about the sector in order to prevent thousands of people from being continually exposed to the risks of betting on unlicensed sites.”