The online gambling industry in Portugal continued its upward trend in the second quarter of 2025. The Portuguese Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ) published its gambling activity report for Q2 2025 on September 8. Insights show that the gambling market expanded 9.6% YoY to be valued at €287 million.
Portuguese Online Gambling Revenue Growth: Key Insights
- 17 licensed gambling operators, with 30 active gambling licences, generated revenue worth €287 million in Q2 2025, marking a 9.6% YoY increase. The operators contributed €81.2 million in Special Online Gaming Tax to the state.
- Games of fortune contributed 62%, amounting to €177.8 million, posting a 12.2% YoY growth compared to Q2 2024. Sports betting accounted for the remaining 38%, generating €109.2 million, representing a 5.7% YoY growth.
- Portugal had 4.87 million registered player accounts at the end of June 2025. This represented a 9.9% YoY growth and a 1.6% quarterly growth. 211,000 new accounts were registered in the quarter, and 135,500 accounts were cancelled.
Rising Popularity of Online Casinos Behind Growth
According to the SRIJ report, the Portuguese iGaming market experienced a 9.6% year-on-year growth, generating €287 million in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) during the second quarter of 2025. The market generated €25.2 million in additional revenue compared to Q2 2024. Online casino games contributed heavily, followed by remote sports betting operations.
Online casino games, encompassing the sub-categories of online slots as well as slot tournaments, table games, live dealer games, and other titles such as crash games, accounted for 62% of the quarterly GGR, generating €177.8 million, representing a 12.2% growth during the same period from last year. Sports betting contributed 38% to the gross gaming revenue, amounting to €109.2 million. This represents a 5.7% YoY growth since Q2 2024.
At the end of June 2025, there were 17 licensed online gambling operators in the iGaming market in Portugal with 30 active licences, including 17 for hosting online casino games and 13 for sports betting services. A sharp rise in betting volume, amounting to €5.04 billion and representing a 15.4% year-on-year growth, fuelled the quarterly revenue jump.
Slot machines continued their dominance, accounting for 79.1% of all wagers, while French baccarat, French roulette, blackjack, crash games, and poker accounted for 7%, 5.3%, 4.5%, 2.7%, and 1.3% of the market by volume. At the same time, punters wagered €457.3 million on popular sporting events.
Sports Betting Insights and Player Dynamics Explained
The report indicates that football remained the most dominant sport, accounting for 67.7% of betting volume. Tennis and basketball followed with 21.8% and 6.5% market share, respectively. The FIFA World Cup and the Primeira Liga, featured in the offerings of the highest-rated sportsbook software providers, witnessed the highest player activity, posting betting volumes of 10.5% and 10.3%, respectively.
Roughly 4.87 million active player accounts were observed at the end of June 2025. This figure represents a 9.9% year-on-year growth since Q2 2024 and a 1.6% increase since Q1 2025. 211,000 new player accounts were registered during this period, and 135,500 accounts were deleted.
Players under 45 years comprised nearly 77.8% of the market, with the 25-34 age group accounting for 33.5% of the demographic. 36% of new player accounts were created by the 18-24 age group, highlighting continued interest from younger individuals. Lisbon and Porto have the highest concentration of gamblers, representing 21.7% and 21.1% of the market, respectively.
Braga, Setúbal, and Aveiro represent the next highest player density, accounting for nearly 50% of the market combined. 94.6% of players are Portuguese, while the remaining demographic comprises foreign nationals. Brazilians comprise 50% of the non-native punter population, while Cabo Verde, Nepal, and Angola comprise the rest of the demographic combined.
The self-exclusion rate increased 27% YoY to 326,400 new self-excluded accounts. This also marks a 5.6% quarterly growth, reflecting the national push toward following responsible gambling practices. The SRIJ also intensified its efforts against unregulated gambling operators in Q2, blocking 110 websites at the ISP level, issuing 97 formal notices to seize operations, and filing one case with the Public Prosecutor’s office.