Part 3: Channelisation and the offshore market
Part 3: Channelisation and the
offshore market
A report commissioned
by industry lobby group
the RGA surveyed
Portuguese gamblers
to ascertain the impact
of the high-tax regime
on the scale of the
offshore market. We
analyse the findings
The Eurogroup Consulting
survey
As mentioned earlier in this report,
in 2017 the RGA commissioned
Eurogroup Consulting Portugal
(EgC) to conduct both a review of
the market to date and a market
research survey of the Portuguese
betting and gaming public to
attempt to ascertain the true extent
of the lack of channelisation of grey
markets into regulated markets.
In the report, produced in
November last year, the RGA pointed
to the difficulties in attempting to
truly get a handle on the size of the
remaining grey/black market in any
given regulated scenario.
“Studying the impact of the
online gambling legislation and
determining how much it has
contributed to a transfer of
gamblers from the offshore to
the onshore market is always
a challenge for a varied set of
reasons, the most important of
which is the fact that admitting to
participate in offshore gambling
is a delicate issue for most online
gamblers,” the EgC authors wrote.
“Also, regardless of any discretion
and confidentiality we use, some
of the relevant stakeholders in
the market may prove difficult to
be reached out and some may
even refuse to contribute. Finally,
official statistics provided by the
regulator may be partial and thus
may prevent us from drawing final
conclusions.”
The market research study took
eight weeks to complete and was
conducted on the following lines:
• A survey was distributed with
the support of the Associação
Nacional de Apostadores Online
(ANAOn);
• Further analysis was conducted
of the most relevant available
data from official sources, market
players and/or press/media;
• EgC performed a set of seven
meetings with key stakeholders
in the market, including the
regulator; and
• EgC used the findings of desk
and field research to confront,
adjust and validate the findings
of the survey.
When it comes to the market
research, the EgC says the
questions were structured
specifically to give a picture
of offshore gaming among
Portuguese gamblers. EgC
received more than 1,000 valid and
completed responses.
The profile of the respondents,
the report points out, is
Portugal: The challenges and potential in one of Europe’s most controversial markets
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