With the closure of casinos and other gaming spaces, such as Bingos, during the pandemic, the Portuguese discovered that there are numerous options to find a great place to try online casino games and without even leaving the couch.
From a computer, tablet or mobile phone, you can be in the comfort of your home playing a game of poker or having fun in the always exciting Slot Machines.
As we mentioned earlier, the pandemic was a decisive factor in the increase in demand for online gambling.
In 2020, casinos and machine rooms had an order to close with the confinement that was in force in our country during part of March and in the months of April and May.
The following year, the entertainment spaces were closed for a few days in January and in the months of February, March and April. In certain cases, the closing extension was still in effect for a few days also in May, June and July.
In several periods the capacity of the rooms was limitedoften for only half the capacity.
The latest data from the Portuguese entity responsible for the regulation of gambling and casinos, the Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), the online gaming market had an increase of almost 40% in 2021, compared to the last quarter of 2021. 2020
In other words, even with the relief of the measures related to COVID-19, the “pet” of the game is here to stay.
In addition to sports betting, casinos and especially games like Roulette, Poker, Blackjack, Baccarat or Bingo, not forgetting slot machines, are some of the favorite diversions in Portugal.
A new source of revenue for the State
This new interest in online games and casinos is seen with good eyes by the government, since, thanks to the special tax on gaming and fees for licenses and system homologation, the Portuguese State received, between the third quarter of 2016 and the end of March this year, close to 570 million euros.
In the same period, the gross revenue of online gaming operators was more than 1.5 billion euros.
According to CNN Portugal, the average daily value of bets in our country is around 28.5 million eurosthis value being an absolute record.
During the most troubled period of the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, the billing of online casinos had its biggest profit.
In the first year of COVID-19, gross revenue grew to more than 120 million euros of profit, an increase of more than 55% compared to 2019.
In 2021, corporate profits rose even further, to values of around 135 million euros, approximately 111%, when also compared to pre-pandemic values of 2019.
Analyzing the data for the first quarter of 2022, the increase in profits is 235% compared to the same period in 2019, with a monetary value of around 110 million euros.
In the first three months of this year, the global number of regular users is 759,800, 138.9% more than those who played in 2019.
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