iGB E-zines iGB e-zine Portugal | Page 9

Part 1: The regulatory backdrop the first quarter of last year, when it was gaming only, is stark (see Table 2). As can be seen, the addition of sports betting to its revenues sees its tax rate as a percentage of revenue more than double from 16.8% to 43.7%. This compares with a blended tax rate of 37.6% for 2017 as a whole and shows how the tax system has meant that payments were more clearly backended towards the last three quarters. The company also pointed out that marketing related to the launch of the sports betting business also hurt the first quarter EBITDA figure, which fell year-on-year to €1.2m. Table 2: Estoril Sol earnings breakdown comparison, 1Q18 and 1Q17 1Q18 (€m) 1Q17 (€m) FY17 Slots 4.65 3.05 11.4 Table games 0.88 1.04 7.5 Sports betting 1.73 - 4.5 Gross revenues 7.26 4.09 23.4 Less bonuses and free bets -1.56 -0.44 -4.5 5.7 3.65 18.9 Online gaming tax -2.49 -0.61 -7.1 Operating income 3.21 3.04 11.8 1.2 2.0 6.4 43.7 16.8 37.6 Net revenues Online EBITDA Tax as a percentage of revenues Source: Estoril Sol/report estimates Portugal: The challenges and potential in one of Europe’s most controversial markets 9