In Portugal, the iGaming and online sports betting market keeps its meteoric rise. Technological advancements and evolving consumer preferences drive it.
All in all, official data shows that the Portuguese online gambling market generated a record-breaking €266.3 million in GGR during the Q3 2024. This represents a 23.7% year-on-year increase. Collecting €82.6 million in special gaming taxes, a 27.5% rise compared to the third quarter in 2023, the government also benefited significantly.
GGR from iGaming reached €175.1 million during the quarter. This accounts for 65.7% of the total online gaming revenue. Solidifying the position of iGaming as the primary driver of industry growth, this marked a 31.2% year-over-year increase.
Sports betting accounted for €91.2 million in GGR, by comparison. This represents 34.3% of the total. Its share of the overall market keeps on declining even if this segment saw an 11.4% increase in revenue compared to the third quarter in 2023.
The third quarter of the previous year revealed overall growth in both revenue and player engagement. This highlights the dominance of the sector in the gambling industry of the country.
At the same moment, the growing dominance of iGaming highlights a shifting trend. The segment appears to be losing ground in the overall online gambling market even as sports betting revenues rise.
Slots dominated the landscape, breaking down the iGaming revenue. It contributes 80.4% of total wagers in the category.
Traditional casino games like roulette (6.1%), baccarat (5.5%), and blackjack/21 (4.5%) followed. On the other hand, niche offerings such as poker tournaments and crash betting remained minor contributions.
Football unsurprisingly maintained its dominance for sports betting, commanding 72.7% of all sports bets. Tennis followed at 21.2%, while other sports collectively represented 6.1%.
Primeira Liga of Portugal accounted for 9.8% of the betting volume among football competitions, with international events such as UEFA Champions League, as well as UEFA Euro 2024 collectively contributing another 12%.
