Introduction: Playing the long game
Introduction:
Playing the long game
The case for reform of
the tax regime may be
compelling, but any
businesses entering the
sector best be prepared
for the long haul
4
T
his report delves into one
of the more challenging
and controversial regulated
jurisdictions in Europe. Despite
having been liberalised in 2015,
a high tax regime seen by many
stakeholders to have been designed
to protect the land-based sports
betting monopoly of Santa Casa
means the dot.pt market remains
the smallest in Europe with a
correspondingly low rate of
channelisation.
That said, the latest data
from the regulator Serviçode
Regulaçãoe Inspeçãode Jogos
(SRIJ) shows an expansion of the
market in recent quarters.
Those operators and suppliers
which have taken the brave
decision to enter early and establish
themselves will be hoping that
an improved economic backdrop
to the time of the liberalisation
and awareness of the experience
in neighbouring Spain, will spur
authorities to overhaul or revise the
tax regime, acting as a catalyst for
the regulated market. Uncertainty
as to when this will happen however
means any operator entering the
market has to be prepared to play
the long game, with the associated
financial outlay and risks.
As Pierre Tournier of the RGA,
which commissioned the report
into the effect of the tax regime
on offshore-onshore channeling
explored in this report, points
out, these kinds of regimes not
only fail to reduce the size of
the regulated market but also in
achieving public policy objectives
typically sought by governments
introducing such legislation.
There are certainly valid concerns
about consumer protection that
can be addressed by a higher rate
of channelisation to regulated
offerings. It is, moreover, a well-
trodden route for regulators
across Europe and hopes that
the Portuguese authorities will
eventually see it in the same light
are shared by the whole igaming
industry.
Portugal: The challenges and potential in one of Europe’s most controversial markets