Part 2: Portugal by numbers
around 120,000. Using the same
multiple of accounts/players of
4.9, it can be estimated that total
players in the second quarter
stood at about 200,000.
Chart 4: Total and new player registrations 3Q16-2Q18
3Q16
4Q16
1Q17
2Q17 Product breakdown
3Q17 Sports betting analysis
Sports betting remains the
largest vertical though absolute
growth would appear to remain
elusive (see Chart 6). This is
not surprising given the limited
number of market participants
and it will be interesting to see the
effect of the Placard online sports
betting launch on the figures
going forward.
4Q17
1Q18
2Q18
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
Total players
Source: SRIJ
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
New players
Chart 5: New players 3Q16-2Q18
300,0000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
3Q16
4Q16
1Q17
2Q17
3Q17
4Q17
1Q18
2Q18
Source: SRIJ
Chart 6: Portugal online sports betting GGR 3Q16-2Q18 (€m)
25.0
20.0
Breakdown by competition
15.0
10.0
5.0
0
Source: SRIJ
12
Sport breakdown
Like other markets across Europe,
sports betting in Portugal is
dominated by betting on football. The
latest figures for the second quarter
of 2018 show that football was worth
75% of all bets, while tennis and
basketball accounted for 14% and 7%,
respectively (see Chart 7).
Obviously, this period covered
the opening stages of the World
Cup, so it is instructive to see that
the same percentage held for
the first quarter when it came to
football (Chart 8).
3Q16
4Q16
1Q17
2Q17
3Q17
4Q17
1Q18
2Q18
In the first quarter of 2018, the
Portuguese Premier League
(Primeira Liga) remained the
largest competition being bet on
by Portuguese punters, accounting
for 14.7% of the total amount of
football bets placed. Behind this,
Spain’s La Lega was worth 8.6%
of all bets placed and bets on the
Portugal: The challenges and potential in one of Europe’s most controversial markets