Portuguese Gambling Market Update, presented by Eduardo Morales-Hermo at European Gaming Congress (EGC) 2018

Portugal is famous for many things, it is the birthplace of Cristiano Ronaldo, has great wine and a rich history.

Being a medium-small size market with an estimate population of 10 million people, the gambling industry has always been a quality driver of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR). The GGR in Portugal is around 110 million Euros and the markets has interesting areas that is important to be discussed, as to what not to do in a regulatory framework regarding taxation. Online gaming and betting generated €122.5 million in 2017 from 800,000 registered players on sites in Portugal. The information was revealed in February this year by the Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service. The “Online gaming activity in Portugal” report for the last quarter of 2017 also showed that 17,600 players had self-excluded themselves from gambling, 4,600 more than in the third quarter of the year. At the end of last year, 61.3 percent of gamblers were aged between 35 and 44, followed by 25 to 34-year-olds (39.3 percent) and 18 to 24-year-olds (27.8 percent). More than half of the gamblers live in or around Porto (22 percent), Lisbon (19.5 percent) and Braga (9.7 percent). The tax regime imposed by Portugal’s three-year-old gambling law seems to be a hindrance for new gambling companies. As per the law, remote gambling operators need to get a license from the country’s gambling regulator Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ). During the inaugural edition of European Gaming Congress (Gioco News is media partner), gaming expert Eduardo Morales-Hermo, will share the latest insights he has about the market and experiences he encountered while working with the Portuguese and Spanish market regulations. About Eduardo - A businessman with 45 years of experience, having worked as executive in corporation management, product development and, for the last ten years, as advisor and consultant in the gaming industry, both in-person and via interactive channels. He graduated in Management Studies; Marketing and organization behavior; Quantitative Methods and Operations Management; Economics and Finance, by Emmanuel College (University of Cambridge); Mba/Jd Join Program Degree (Lmba) by the University of Maryland, USA; New Technologies applied to Gaming and Entertainment; by the Unlv University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA. Eduardo has more than 15-year experience in online gaming, strategy planning, product and business development, implementation and restructuration of gaming corporations; regulations making for in-person and online gaming via interactive channels.