Portugal Gambling Regulator
Flights between Portugal and other destinations will only be permitted for essential travel. In this case, passengers must present a negative test to COVID-19 (RT-PCR), carried out within 72 hours before departure time. This test is not asked in Portugal for those who are in transit and do not have to leave the airport facilities. Gambling regulators in Portugal. Contacts and data of the state control authorities in the country, where gambling is legal. Regulated casino markets attempt to legalise, license, regulate, and tax online casinos. Law makers in these countries realise online gambling takes place whether the law it or not. They want to make the activity safer for their citizens, while collecting taxes, fees, and fines to help pay the cost of regulation and fund public education.
Portugal does offer land based casino gambling, although there are only 9 in total, and many feel that the government not issuing more casino licenses has stifled competition. Some of these casinos are fairly large though and the casino scene in Portugal is fairly vibrant in spite of the limited selection.
In any case, there’s only two of them that offer live poker, with one poker table each, so the live poker scene in Portugal is virtually non existent. If you want to play poker in Portugal you’re either limited to these two casinos, home games, or playing online, and almost all of the real money poker that goes on in Portugal these days is the online version.
Aside from these casino licenses, all other forms of gambling is controlled by the SCML, which has a monopoly on sports betting and online gambling, including online poker.
Portugal has been mulling over changes to its gambling laws for quite a few years now, especially recently, with some new law that is expected to go into effect fairly soon. The original intention of this new law was to preserve the SCML’s monopoly on offering online gambling, and they not only don’t offer online poker but also came out as saying that they don’t have any interest in doing so either. (2)
So since then, the Portuguese government has rethought this stance, moving away from thinking that they can simply make things like online poker just go away by not offering it and blocking people’s access to it. The fact that Portugal doesn’t officially offer online poker certainly has not prevented people from playing it, and the government’s attempts to keep people from accessing it hasn’t worked very well either. (3)
Portugal Gambling Regulator Of Carbon Dioxide
The focus of the SCML has been on sports betting, and totally neglecting the online poker market doesn’t seem like the best way to either regulate it or generate tax revenue for the government, and their monopoly on online gambling in itself puts them at odds with the EU, which is clearly against gambling monopolies and has worked hard over the years to seek to bring them to an end in other countries.
Blocking people’s internet access to gambling sites is something that many countries attempt, but it has only limited success. It doesn’t stop people from actually gambling on the sites, it only seeks to block access to gambling home pages, and players can access and download software from other sources, in addition to other means to get around these restrictions that are readily available to players.
Portugal has had some economic problems of late as well, which even required a bailout from the EU, so they could certainly use some extra tax revenue, and online poker certainly would represent a source of that, in addition to the benefits and need to comply with EU regulations. So this set the stage for a more reasoned approach to the issue of online gambling regulation which is now in the works.
Portugal’s New Online Gambling Regulatory Scheme
Some new legislation is in the works in Portugal and they will soon have a regulatory scheme for online gambling in place, as several other countries in Europe have done. It may be of benefit that they did take their time with this as this has provided them the opportunity to learn from what has taken place in other countries, to aid in allowing them to put together a set of regulations that will perhaps avoid the mistakes made elsewhere and therefore be more successful.
Whether they have done that sufficiently though is yet to be seen.
One of the big issues here is obtaining a high enough level of compliance among players, and to get this right, you need to account for the fact that in this environment, player buy in is necessary, as well as getting buy in from online gambling companies.
Both are important, and they do work together, as if you can get a site like PokerStars to participate, then Portuguese players who want to play at PokerStars are going to be playing Portuguese regulated poker, since part of the deal is going to require a poker site segregate players at least for tax purposes.
So the more large poker sites you attract, the more you reduce the competition from outside the scheme, so it’s important that you design the regulatory framework to be friendly enough to online poker companies that it is going to be worth their while to want to participate.
In addition, it also has to be player friendly, and there will always be options outside the framework, non regulated sites in other words, that they will always be able to choose from.
There are two main areas of concern here, which are player pool access and tax rates. Player pool access is one that’s particularly important to players, and this boils down to whether or not the player pool will be limited to those residing in the particular regulated country or not. It’s preferable to all that players be allowed to play in the main player pool, and it looks like Portugal’s system will allow for that, thankfully. (4)
The second important issue is that of taxation, and if you tax this too heavily then this tends to drive away players, and there’s a price to be paid here when players play on regulated sites, and it’s that the extra tax paid will affect their bottom line. Someone has to pay this extra tax after all, and an extra amount needs to be siphoned off from the games to pay for this.
Portugal’s proposed tax scheme is on the heavier side, although it does give a break to smaller operators who only have to pay half the tax rate, 15% instead of the 30% that normal operators will have to pay. This likely won’t please the larger operators of course. This also doesn’t make much sense.
So we’ll have to see how this all pans out but it might turn out that Portugal may have to do some more thinking on this to get it to work, and we are particularly interested in what kind of operators this will attract, as well as what the participation rate among players may be.
In the mean time online poker players from Portugal are still accepted at most online poker sites so the effect of this is more to generate more tax dollars for the government than anything, but players will still be watching closely to see how it all unfolds.
References:
(1) Portugal Poker Rooms
(2) Will Portugal Become the Next Online Poker Monopoly in Europe?
(3) Portugal Gambling
(4) Portugal’s New Online Gambling Regulations: What Poker Players Need To Know
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AUSTRIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for sports betting and horse race betting are available for private operators on a regional basis within Austria, whereas poker, casino, bingo and lottery are controlled by the monopoly, Casinos Austria, which has exclusive rights until 2027.
Status: The CJEU has held that the Austrian casino monopoly is incompatible with EU law in a number of cases, although national courts continue to reach conflicting decisions on the compatibility of Austria’s current gambling legislative framework with EU law and the position remains unclear.
BELGIUM
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All products are available to private operators except for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider. However, online operators need to partner with a land-based licence holder in order to satisfy a local establishment requirement; alternatively, apply for one of the retail licences that can be extended to cover online.
Status: There remain valid arguments that the existing regime is incompatible with Belgium’s EU Treaty obligations. Active enforcement measures against operators and players are in place. A mandatory, weekly deposit limit of €500 for all customers of licensed operators is in effect. A draft law to introduce an advertising and sponsorship ban has been submitted to parliament.
BULGARIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery (excluding raffles and instant lottery games).
Operator type: All products are available to private operators except for lotteries, which are to be reserved exclusively for the monopoly.
Status: Any operator from an EU/EEA jurisdiction or the Swiss Confederation can apply for a licence. The Bulgarian regulator has awarded approximately 30 licences to date, including to a number of international operators. The government has adopted amendments to the country’s gambling legislation to establish a monopoly on lotteries in Bulgaria, with any existing lottery licences to be revoked with immediate effect following the amendment’s entry into force.
CROATIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All products are available to private operators except for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider. Private operators can only be licensed to offer online gambling if they obtain a land-based casino or betting licence.
Status: Attempts by the Ministry to update its gambling legislation have been subject to criticism in respect of EU incompatibility issues (including the requirement that only holders of land-based licences can offer online gambling). Regulatory reforms appear to have stalled in the country.
CYPRUS
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator type: OPAP has a monopoly over lottery operations; betting licences are available to private operators.
Status: Cyprus regulated online betting in July 2012, although a licensing regime was not established until 2016. ISPs are obliged to implement blocking measures to prohibit Cypriot residents from accessing unlicensed gambling websites. A betting law, which entered into force in March 2019, replaced the 2012 Betting Law. The provisions of the 2019 law are substantially the same, with minor amends introduced to address EU incompatibility concerns under the previous law (such as the requirement to have a local branch in order to obtain a betting licence). An overhaul to player protection measures has been proposed by the betting regulator.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: EU and EEA-based operators are able to apply for licences.
Status: The gambling regulatory regime, which entered into force in the Czech Republic on 1 January 2017, allows EU/EEA companies to enter the market. ISP-blocking measures are active in the jurisdiction. Tax rates reportedly increased to up to 30% of GGR for certain online gambling activities from January 2020.
DENMARK
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, fantasy sports, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for all gambling products are available to private operators save for lotteries, which are controlled by the state monopoly.
Status: The Danish online gambling regime went live on 1 January 2012. ISP-blocking measures are active in the jurisdiction and the Danish Gaming Authority (DGA) has been granted an injunction to block operators and suppliers that have been targeting Danish customers without the requisite licence. As of 1 January 2020, licensed operators are required to ensure that customers have set deposit limits before they are allowed to gamble, although it is understood this applies to online casino only. The DGA introduced new marketing regulations, effective from 1 April 2020.
ESTONIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for all gambling products are available to private operators save for lotteries, which are reserved exclusively for the monopoly operator.
Status: Operators seeking to accept business from players in Estonia must be issued an activity licence for the type of gambling they wish to offer, then an operating permit to provide the services online. A blacklist of operators is maintained and updated by local authorities and ISP and payment blocking is in force. Though some operators argue that the regime is still not compatible with EU law, no notification alleging incompatibility has been issued by the EC since the requirement for licensees to maintain servers in Estonia was removed.
FINLAND
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All gambling products are under the exclusive control of monopoly provider Veikkaus Oy.
Status: Despite the existence of a national monopoly, EC enforcement action was dropped subsequent to various changes to Finnish laws. Active enforcement measures are in place (restrictive marketing for offshore operators in particular) and the government is exploring measures to further restrict the offshore supply of gambling services. The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority published a report in 2019 criticising the existing regime, citing failures of the current monopolistic system that arguably raise questions over the regime’s compatibility with EU law. It is understood that preliminary talks have taken place to reform Finland’s gambling laws in 2021.
Portugal Gambling Regulator Gambling
FRANCE
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can obtain online licences for sports betting, horse race betting and poker. The monopoly has exclusive rights to bingo and lottery.
Status: A regulated market since the introduction of a licensing regime in 2010, following which the EC withdrew its infringement proceedings. A new regulatory authority, L’autorité Nationale des Jeux, took over from ARJEL in June 2020. Responsible gambling advice has been issued to operators and players during the Covid-19 crisis, with a warning against using bonuses to attract new players to poker.
GERMANY
Regulated gambling products: Schleswig-Holstein, a small northern-German state, regulates sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino and bingo. The other 15 states of Germany currently permit only sports betting and horse race betting, though online poker and virtual slots are currently ‘tolerated’ pending the implementation of a new regulatory regime.
Operator type: Private operators can no longer obtain casino licences in Schleswig-Holstein under the existing regime, although S-H has approved legislation to reinstate existing licences until 2021 (with operations allowed to continue in the interim). S-H has also introduced a quasi-licensing regime for sports betting (intended to be of a transitional nature). In the other 15 states, horse race betting licences are available at a regional level. Sports betting licences can be applied for by private operators as of 1 January 2020. Operators that comply with the requirements of the toleration regime in place pending the introduction of legislation in 2021 may offer online poker and virtual slots until that time.
Status: The main legal framework for gambling regulation in Germany has been the subject of much debate and has been heavily criticised by the EC and interested parties/states within Germany for a number of years. Discussions to reform the existing legislation resulted in the approval of the 3rd Amendment Treaty which entered into force on 1 January 2020. The 3rd Amendment Treaty removes the limit on the number of sports betting licences and re-introduces a sports betting licensing process. The ban on online casino remains in place, although there is an exception to the prohibition for S-H. On 12 March 2020, the German prime ministers approved the new Interstate Treaty on Gambling which proposes to bring new licensing options for private operators for online poker and virtual slots (although stringent restrictions, such as stake limits, are expected to be implemented). The Treaty, which has been notified to the EC and is scheduled to enter into force from 1 July 2021, has been approved by state leaders but still needs to be ratified by state parliaments before becoming law. In October 2020 a toleration regime was introduced which permits operators to offer online poker and slots provided they comply with the toleration regime’s requirements and certain restrictions (such as stake limits).
GREAT BRITAIN
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All licences are available to private operators save for lottery, which is reserved exclusively for the monopoly provider, Camelot.
Status: Any operator that transacts with, or advertises to, British residents requires a licence from the Gambling Commission (GC). Licensed operators are required to source gambling software from GC-licensed businesses. Licensed operators are prohibited from allowing consumers to use credit cards to gamble (including online and land-based gambling with the exception of non-remote lotteries) as of 14 April 2020.
GREECE
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator type: All products are exclusively reserved for the monopoly providers pending the implementation of an open licensing regime, although certain private operators are permitted to operate on a transitional basis.
Status: In 2012, a ‘transition period’ commenced, whereby the Greek government granted 24 transitional licences to operators, enabling them to provide services to Greek residents. Legislation, which introduced an open licensing regime for online betting and “other online games”, including casino and poker, entered into force on 30 October 2019. However, the regulations implementing the new legal regime were not published until August 2020. Operators holding a transitional licence may continue to offer services until a decision is made to grant a permanent licence (provided also a further application was submitted prior to 6 September 2020). The opening of the new online market is expected in the short-term.
HUNGARY
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Only the state monopolies (Szerencsejáték Zrt. and Magyar Lóversenyfogadást-Szervezo Kft) and local concession companies can apply for a licence.
Status: Amendments to Hungarian gambling law came into force on 1 October 2015 and allow only two land-based casinos to hold remote casino concessions. The regulator has since issued fines, a number of which have been challenged, against unlicensed operators that continue to target the market. In June 2017, the ECJ determined Hungary’s gambling regime to be incompatible with Article 56 TFEU. A subsequent ECJ decision in February 2018 ruled against the Hungarian requirement that online gambling operators must have a land-based licence to offer online gambling services to Hungarian citizens, further strengthening arguments that the current regime is incompatible with EU law.
IRELAND
Regulated gambling products: Online betting regulated since August 2015. Online gaming is not specifically accounted for in Ireland’s outdated legislation and as such is currently unregulated.
Operator type: Private operators can apply for a betting licence.
Status: Ireland has contemplated updating its legislation, which will create a comprehensive igaming regime, for some time. The Gambling Control Bill – the legislation which promises to specifically regulate online gambling – has been subject to continued delay and legislative progress is not expected in the short- to medium-term. Legislation to more generally modernise the regulation of gambling in Ireland is scheduled to enter into effect on 1 December 2020.
ITALY
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Fully regulated market, although lotteries are the subject of a state monopoly.
Status: Remote gambling licences are granted within specific application windows. The last tender process for applications closed on 19 March 2018. AGCOM, the Italian communications regulator, recently issued its first sanction against an operator for violation of the advertising ban (introduced in 2018). New measures to combat unlicensed gambling, including payment blocking measures, entered into effect in October 2019. The 2020 Budget Law provides for the organisation of a tender for the issuance of licences by 31 December 2020 – it is understood there will be 40 licences available for online gambling. A new tax, which amounts to 0.5% on turnover, is set to be introduced on all bets on sporting events (including virtual sports) until 31 December 2021.
LUXEMBOURG
Regulated gambling products: Lottery.
Operator type: Monopoly.
Status: The general prohibition on gambling appears sufficiently wide to cover all forms of online gambling.
MALTA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can apply for a local licence (except for lottery products).
Status: In 2018, Malta approved a new Gaming Act that replaced all existing gaming legislation with a single piece of legislation, supplemented by secondary legislation. The Gaming Act, with directives and regulations, became effective on 1 August 2018.
NETHERLANDS
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Monopoly for all products.
Status: The Remote Gambling Bill, intended to introduce a new regime, was expected to enter into force on 1 January 2021, with a six-month window for licence applications; however a delay until 1 March 2021 is now anticipated. The Dutch regulator has published draft policy rules and licensing permit documentation in relation to the application process. It is understood that operators that have directly ‘targeted’ the Dutch market will face a 30-month cooling-off period before being eligible for a licence. Full implementation of a licensing regime is not expected until 1 September 2021. In the interim, the regulator is expected to continue to implement enforcement measures against operators targeting Dutch players.
NORWAY
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting and lottery.
Operator type: Online gambling is reserved for the two monopoly providers, Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.
Status: The monopoly has extended its offering to include live betting, online bingo and casino games in an attempt to redirect traffic from unlicensed sites. The Norwegian regulator continues to step up enforcement efforts against unregulated operators, local banks and payment service providers. The government has passed amendments to try and stem the flow of gambling supply from offshore, including enhanced enforcement powers to prevent gambling advertising from abroad. Expanded payment blocking provisions entered into effect on 1 January 2020. Draft legislation consolidating Norway’s various gambling laws is currently being considered.
POLAND
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, casino and poker.
Operator type: Betting licences are available for companies with a representative in Poland. Casino and poker are reserved for a state monopoly.
Status: Legislation enacted on 1 January 2012 permits betting. Online gaming (including poker) is no longer prohibited as of 1 April 2017, although the exclusive rights to offer such products are reserved for a state monopoly. Provisions that provide for the establishment of a blacklist of unlicensed operators and ISP and payment blocking came into force on 1 July 2017. The blacklist contains more than 1,000 domain names.
PORTUGAL
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Any EU/EEA operator can apply to be granted a licence for online gambling. Lottery games and land-based fixed-odds sports betting remain reserved for a monopoly.
Status: A regulated market since 2015. Although operators can apply for licences, their Portuguese revenue streams are subject to comparatively high tax rates, particularly in sports betting. Portugal’s 2020 Budget will implement changes to the current taxation rates applicable to selected gambling products offered online.
ROMANIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Any operator from an EU/EEA jurisdiction or the Swiss Confederation can apply for a licence. Lottery games remain reserved for the monopoly.
Status: The Gambling Law (as amended) introduced a legal framework for a fully regulated online gambling market and requires licences to be held by online gambling operators, as well as software providers, payment processors, affiliates and testing labs. The secondary legislation that fully implemented the new licensing regime came into force on 26 February 2016. The gambling regulator actively polices the regime and notifies ISPs to block blacklisted websites. A legislative proposal to further amend the Gambling Law was submitted to the Romanian Senate in September 2020.
SLOVAKIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can apply for licences for online casino and for sports betting licences. Lottery and bingo remain reserved for the monopoly provider.
Status: The Gambling Law came into force on 1 March 2019. The Gambling Law allows private operators outside of Slovakia to apply for licences for sports betting and casino, although sports betting licences did not take effect until 1 July 2020.
SLOVENIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Online gambling must be operated by land-based casinos or lotteries and, as a result, only the monopoly holds online licences in Slovenia.
Status: The requirement that only land-based Slovenian operators are eligible for licences is considered by certain industry stakeholders to be incompatible with EU law. Draft amendments to the Gaming Act were published in 2015, which aimed to remove the current local establishment requirement. However, the proposal does not appear to have been submitted to parliament to date. Whether any proposed amendments will ultimately introduce an open licensing system remains unclear.
SPAIN
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, horse race betting, poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can apply for licences for all gambling products save for lottery.
Status: Operators must hold a general licence and a specific licence, both issued by the National Gambling Commission, for each activity. Remote gambling licences are granted within specific application windows. The last tender process for applications closed on 18 December 2018. In November 2020, Spain introduced significant restrictions on gambling advertising, sports sponsorship and welcome bonuses.
SWEDEN
Regulated gambling products: Betting (including sports, horse race, pool, exchanges), casino, poker, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences are available for private operators.
Status: As of 1 January 2019, Sweden is a fully regulated market. All gambling operators that wish to offer their services to Swedish residents will be required to obtain a licence in order to validly do so (either a ‘betting’ licence or a ‘commercial online games’ licence, depending on the product(s) being offered). Active enforcement measures are in place. Temporary regulations, which were introduced on 2 July 2020 in response to the Covid-19 crisis, restrict, among other things, deposit and loss limits (applicable to casino only) and total login time. The measures are expected to be in place until the end of 2020.
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