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Between January and September last year, online gambling, which has been regulated in Portugal since 2015, generated an accumulated 617.6 million euros in revenue, according to data from the Portuguese Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ – Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos). The State, through the Special Online Gambling Tax (IEJO), received more than 60 million euros in the second quarter of 2023 alone. However, how can online gambling be regulated while protecting legal companies and players? In an interview with Valor Magazine, Filipe Mayer, Partner at CCA Law Firm, talks about the legislative reality in Portugal and what can be done to help control illegal online gambling.
“Players always look for operators that offer them the best deal in terms of prizes and gaming experience. If too many limitations are placed on the offer of products and stifling taxes, the offer becomes uncompetitive and players are lost to the unregulated market, which offers no guarantees of the implementation of responsible gambling measures, rules on the prevention of money laundering and even the actual payment of prizes to players,” explains the CCA Partner, adding that “the fewer people who play with licensed operators, the less tax revenue the State will have. This does not mean that gambling is going down; it just means that consumers are choosing to gamble on unlicensed websites”.
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- Valor Magazine