Serviço de Regulação Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), Portugal’s gaming regulator, released quarterly gambling statistics showing a 7.7% increase in players choosing to self-exclude from gaming sites in the second quarter. However, the number of newly registered players decreased by 23.1% quarter-on-quarter.
The quarterly decline in new player registrations could be explained by seasonality, but it was still up 9.1% year-on-year, bringing the total number of such players to 128,100.
This compares with the previous quarter’s total of 118,900 and last year’s total of 93,600.
At the same time, the increasing proportion of self-excluded players, while the overall player pool is declining, may be a cause for greater concern.
The percentage of self-excluded players is now 3.5% of total registered players. Of self-excluded players, 91.8% chose to opt out indefinitely.
In total, online gaming and betting generated revenue of €146.4m (£123.6m / $149.5m), up 17.2% year-on-year and down 7.7% quarter-on-quarter. This compares to the previous quarter, when Portugal’s total gambling revenue increased by 23.6% year-on-year.
€64.7 of this total was generated through sports betting activity, with the remaining €81.7 generated from online gaming.
Total revenues returned from the Special Online Game Tax (IEJO) amounted to €44.9 million compared to €38.8 million in the same period last year.
Regulators also continue to take action against illegal operators, issuing 54 website shutdown notices this quarter, the highest number issued since SRIJ began cataloging information in 2015. We are reporting 980 cases.
Regulators also blocked ISPs on 34 sites, for a total of 1,234 sites blocked.
The report also details the ongoing work being done to combat illegal advertising. SRIJ has developed several monitoring and awareness campaigns as part of this effort. This resulted in the removal of 400 videos (20 in Q2 2022) promoting illegal gambling sites. ”
