Portugal Online Gaming to Become Liberalized June 28

This story was published more than 8 years ago.

Portugal's online gambling market will begin offering licensed and regulated online games on June 28th, bringing about a liberalized market for the country for the first time.

There is no limit on the number of gaming licenses available, and although nobody has been awarded a license yet the country has said that licenses will be awarded shortly after June 28th. It is thought that legalized online gambling will bring the country an extra €25 million annually in tax revenues.

Operators in Portugal will pay between 8-16% tax on sports betting turnover, between 15-30% on casino and games revenue, while betting exchanges and poker will be taxed at a rate of 15% on revenue.

Commenting on the upcoming launch Portugal Secretary of State for Tourism Adolfo Mequita Nunes said, “We are preparing everything so that on June 28 the technical control structure is operating. We want to sign up as many operators as possible, particularly international operators.”

While punters are likely to hail the adoption of legalized online betting, Portgual's land casinos are happy about the move, as major land operator Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau wanted to see online betting stuck exclusively to existing land casinos, and that the land sites pay higher tax rates.

About the author

Dustin Jermalowicz // News Editor
Dustin Jermalowicz
Dustin has a long-standing passion for gambling. He has been writing professionally on the subject and breaking industry news for Casino Listings since 2011. His favorite casino games include Blackjack, Poker, and Hi/Lo. A proud native of Detroit, Dustin currently lives in Michigan.