Portugal Gambling Website
Gambling Legislation and Laws. Gambling in Portugal is legal in most forms, both in brick and mortar establishments and online. There are several different laws regarding different types of gambling; each law generally corresponds to a different type of betting. Online sports betting in Portugal kicked into gear in May 2016 when the government launched a regulated market for online gambling. Unsurprisingly, the Portuguese love betting on football and this dominates over three-quarters of all sports betting turnover. Basketball and tennis are also popular.
Online sports betting in Portugal kicked into gear in May 2016 when the government launched a regulated market for online gambling. Unsurprisingly, the Portuguese love betting on football and this dominates over three-quarters of all sports betting turnover. Basketball and tennis are also popular options, but these pale in comparison to the market leader.
The team at Sports Betting Online have been keeping a close eye on how the Portuguese online betting market develops. For your interest, here is a list of the most trusted and reputable bookmakers available for sports bettors in Portugal right now, and several reasons why you’ll want to bet here:
- Brilliant odds and offers for all sports
- Exceptional welcome bonuses for new members
- Fast and secure deposit and withdrawal methods
Portuguese Government Control the Monopoly
Gambling in Portugal is split into 3 different legal categories: raffles, casino and lotteries & sports betting. While raffles have limited financial implications for the state – the rest are all run via a monopoly under license from the government. All sports betting activity in Portugal has been run exclusively by the Santa Casa de Misericordia de Lisboa (SCML) since 1961, who primarily use the profits generated to fund social programs to help the elderly and children in the Lisbon area [1].
There is no fixed odds betting allowed in Portugal instead all betting is pooled, where the wagers are made in a similar way to all are pooled together before the final pay-out is decided. The two games you can choose from are Totloto and Loto2.
Despite the EU’s competition laws, in a 2009 case where Bwin challenged the monopoly the European Court of Justice ruled it to be legal providing Portugal and SCML are not discriminatory or go beyond what is necessary to achieve their aims [2].
Online Sports Betting Changing Direction
As internet gaming started to show signs of popularity in the early 2000s the Portuguese government stepped in and added additional clarification on their gambling laws. Legislative Decree 282/2003 sought granted SCML a license to essentially operate online and prohibit all other operators from providing their services online or via any electronic device [3].
Even with this restriction in place many online operators continued to provide their services to Portugal and banks continued to honour transactions. After Bwin lost their ECJ case against the Portuguese monopoly they continued to offer their online service. This prompted Portugal to introduced ISP blocks on international sites, although these were largely ineffective.
In 2013 the Portuguese government announced it was going to liberalize and begin to regulate the online market. As the economic hardships continued throughout Europe, resulting in Portugal receiving financial bailouts, it was hard to ignore the revenue brought in by online gaming in Spain and France.
A decision was finally forced when the Troika – the EU Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund – insisted that legislation be introduced to assist in Portugal’s payback [4]. As of July 2014 the Portuguese parliament has approved of these new laws, which will license operators in a similar way to France, Spain and Italy, enforcing strict controls in a national market. Presently the country is in the middle of a 180 day timeframe for the proposed regulator to set up and outline their process [5].
Taxes on Sports Betting in Portugal?
Currently sports betting winnings are not taxable in Portugal. This is especially true as many of the sites Portuguese citizens use are offshore so there is no framework in place to apply taxes. There is currently much concern about how much tax the licensed online companies will be charged under new laws, although no indication yet that individuals will face any tax.
How Accessible are Online Sports Books for Portuguese Customers?
Despite not strictly being able to provide their services to Portugal, many sites do provide a Portuguese language site and customer support. Of course the Euro is used by the vast majority of respectable sites so there is no concerns about currency conversions and generally Portuguese banks will process transactions to offshore sites.
Portugal Gambling Websites
Depending on the site you can deposit and withdraw using all the regular means including Visa and MasterCard credit cards along with all major debit cards. For quick payments, or if you are having trouble getting transactions through your bank you might want to consider an e-wallet like Skrill or NETeller which acts as a third party and allows you to store off the sites yet securely online.
2014 is the Year of Change in Portugal
Now that legislation has been passed it is just a matter of waiting until everything is in place. It is believed that online betting will be a reality before the end of 2014 although there would be no surprise if it goes into 2015. It is understood that once companies become licensed then Portuguese customers will no longer be able to access the majority of reputable international sites and will have to use the Portuguese platform.
One main concern presently is that the charges and taxation may put operators off gaining Portuguese licenses. This has been seen in Spain which is currently suffering a drop off in interest and profits in online gaming and as a result seeking to merge its ring-fenced market with other similar countries. Whether this is an option for Portugal may be a discussion for the future, although until sites begin to launch it is not a present concern.
References
[1] About Santa Casa de Misericondia de Lisboa – PGRI
[2]Bwin Loses EU Court Challenge – Bloomberg
[3]ECJ ruling puts spotlight on Portugal gaming laws – International Law Office
[4]Portugal ordered to legalize online gambling – Pokerfuse
[5]Portuguese Parliament Approves Online Gambling Legislation – Reviewed Casinos
As a stable and prosperous nation, Portugal is an attractive market for the online gambling industry. The best casino sites in Portugal are reputable and well-run websites that offer the full gambling experience for anyone interested.
Portugal’s gambling laws are still relatively new and the government has only recently begun awarding licenses to online casinos. To date, only a handful of casino websites are authorized to host real money games. We expect more to come in the near future, but these are the sites that are currently 100% legal in Portugal.
Licensed Portuguese Gambling Sites:
For verification, the Portuguese government keeps an updated list of licensed casino sites on this page here. You can also simply check the domain of any gambling website for evidence of its legal status. All licensed operators are required to host their websites on domains that end in “.pt.” The website of any authorized gambling website should look something like this: www.website.pt.
Making Deposits and Getting Paid
Portuguese online casinos process all deposits and withdrawals in Euros via approved payment methods. Currently, players located in Portugal may fund their accounts with Multibanco, Skrill, Neteller, credit cards and instant bank transfers. The government approves payment methods individually to ensure licensed casinos only accept payments through reliable processors.
When you’re done gambling, you can initiate a withdrawal and the casino will send euros to either your e-wallet account (Skrill, Neteller, etc.) or directly to your bank account. Payments are processed quickly now that online gambling is legal. Operators no longer have to jump through all kinds of hoops to send money to winners; they are legal entities and may use the banking system to process payments just like any other company.
Gambling Laws in Portugal
Portugal is in the process of legalizing online gambling, but there’s still a long road ahead as lawmakers and industry leaders butt heads over issues regarding taxes and regulations. A law passed in 2015 set the stage for legal casino sites by outlining regulations, setting tax rates and creating a process by which operators could receive licenses to offer real money online gambling in Portugal legally.
Portugal Gambling Websites
Supporters of the new law offered the same reasoning that was made when brick-and-mortar gambling was first legalized way back in 1927. That is, there was a growing underground gambling economy that was completely unregulated, untaxed and that could easily prey on problem gamblers.
Although there was no outright prohibition on online gambling prior to 2015, there was also no means by which legitimate operators could apply for licensing to establish legal Portuguese casino sites. Instead, gaming operators located all around the world simply accepted Portuguese players with no questions asked.
Lawmakers realized that an effective prohibition of online gambling would be difficult, if not impossible. Effective prohibition would have required internet censorship, ordering payment processors to block transactions to online casinos and passing a variety of new laws to make these things happen.
If they were unable to control the growing online gambling industry, they reasoned, they might as well bring it into the government fold. Thus, the government passed Decree-Law No. 66/2015 to bring online gambling out from the shadows and into a legalized format.
In fact, the Legal Framework for Online Gambling and Betting (RJO) makes it a point to state several objectives of legal internet gambling:
- Guarantee the protection of minors and the most vulnerable
- Combat fraud and money laundering
- Combat gambling-related criminal behavior
- Safeguard the the integrity of sports
- Guarantee public safety and order
- Prevent excessive gambling and addictive behaviours and practices
To that end, Decree-Law No. 66/2015 set forth strict regulations to govern legal gambling in Portugal. These include a number of advertising rules such as not advertising gambling to minors or in locations where minors congregate, not appealing to the concept of “easy winings,” not advertising gambling within 250 metres of a school and not advertising anything related to granting loans for gambling purposes.
The law also granted the government body Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) regulator powers to oversee online gambling. SRIJ is responsible for monitoring and inspecting both online casinos and land-based gambling operations. Some of the powers of SRIJ include:
- Granting licenses to casino sites
- Creating regulations for online gambling
- Ruling on compliance with all laws related to gambling advertising
- Imposing fees and penalties for violations of the law
- Approving which sports events and horses races may bet bet on by the public
- Approving the technical systems employed by casino websites
The legal framework also prohibits certain people from engaging in online gambling. These include most public officials, prosecutors, police authorities, security forces, minors and anyone who has requested an exclusion from gambling (such as a problem gambling asking to be banned from gambling).
Furthermore, any organization requesting a license to offer online gambling in Portugal must prove it is of “good standing” and prove it has both the financial and technical capacity to run a gambling operation.