Portugal’s regulated online betting and gaming market recorded strong growth during the first half of 2020, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports betting.
Total wagers increased by 62.5 per cent to €2.53bn in H1, with sports betting wagers down 1.5 per cent to €239.9m, offset by a 74 per cent increase in online casino wagers to €2.29bn.
This generated total gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €138.9m during the six-month period, an increase of 45 per cent year-on-year, with sports betting GGR climbing 16 per cent to €55.2m, despite a decline in the second quarter as major sports were suspended due to the coronavirus.
Online casino GGR grew significantly, climbing 74 per cent to €83.7m, of which 70 per cent was derived from slots and 12 per cent from French roulette. A further 10 per cent of total GGR came from poker, 8 per cent from blackjack, with French Banca contributing the remaining 2 per cent.
There were 287,800 new player registrations during the period, an increase of 27 per cent versus a year ago.