Portugal’s online gambling market witnessed an unprecedented surge during the final quarter of 2023, surpassing previous revenue records and indicating a robust increase in consumer engagement with digital gaming platforms.
The closing quarter’s revenue soared to €227.4 million, a figure that is a notable 5.6% higher than the previous record of €215.4m, set in the third quarter. This performance not only exceeded expectations but also marked a substantial increase of 16.4% from the €195.3m registered in the fourth quarter of the prior year.
A substantial portion of this revenue comes from online casino games, which amassed €154.5m in earnings, marking a 40.7% growth compared to the year before and setting a new benchmark for the country’s digital gaming scene. Online casino gaming activity reached unprecedented heights with consumers spending upwards of €3.84bn, a year-on-year upsurge of 28.7%. Slots firmly dominated this sector, attracting 83.0% of all wagers placed. French roulette and blackjack also remained popular choices, drawing 6.9% and 4.7% of the total bets respectively, while the remainder was dispersed across various options like dice games and poker.
The period brought contrasting fortunes for different sectors within the industry. Despite the boom in online casino revenues, sports betting experienced a downturn. Q4 revenues for this segment fell to €72.8m—a 14.8% drop from the €85.4m seen in the same quarter of 2022. Nevertheless, the total amount wagered on sports betting by players showed a positive trend, increasing by 16.0% to reach €532.1m. This volume of bets not only represented a high for the quarter but also stood as the apex for any quarter in the year 2023.
Analyzing the preferences in sports betting, football maintained its dominant appeal, capturing a massive 74.7% of all stakes. Other sports such as basketball and tennis claimed 10.8% and 9.7% respectively, while collective interest in other sporting disciplines accounted for the remaining 4.8%.
Another indicator of the online gambling market’s expansion was the growth in new account registrations. Portugal saw approximately 319,500 new user sign-ups during Q4, a substantial increase from the 237,600 recorded in the previous year. By the end of this successful quarter, the total active online gambling accounts had risen to 4.2 million.
Coinciding with the rise in new player registrations was an increment in self-exclusions from online gambling. The figure reached 215,000 in Q4, showing a rise of 18,400 from Q3 and significantly outnumbering the total from Q4 of 2022 by 63,200. Alongside these statistics, regulatory efforts continued with authorities in Portugal shutting down 23 illegal gambling websites during the quarter to safeguard the integrity of the industry.
While digital gambling flourished, traditional land-based casinos did not fare as well. Land-based gambling revenues for the quarter were reported at €64.6m, witnessing a 3.9% decrease from the €67.2m earned in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Slot machine revenue, a significant contributor to land-based casino earnings, diminished by 3.5% year-on-year to €51.4m, which made up 79.7% of the total land-based revenue for Q4. The balance of €13.2m was attributed to casino-style and bingo games, which also faced a slight 1.5% decrease. American roulette managed to draw €4.2m, with baccarat and blackjack generating €3.6m and €2.8m respectively.
Overall, Portugal’s online gambling landscape displayed robust growth in the latter part of 2023, particularly within the digital realm. It highlighted shifts in player behavior towards online platforms, even as traditional brick-and-mortar establishments grappled with minor setbacks, reflecting a larger global trend towards the digitization of leisure and entertainment industries.
