According to the Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service of Turismo de Portugal, sports betting over the internet has moved more than four billion euros in the last five years. This sector has experienced significant growth in 2021, with a betting volume of around 1,402 billion euros, compared to 808 million in 2020, 543 million in 2019 and 392 million in 2018.
According to an official source from the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, the increase in betting in Portugal reflects a post-pandemic global trend.
So far, the reports do not include data for the fourth quarter of 2022, but previous information indicates that the volume of bets in that year was 1,023 billion euros. Of this amount, 369.4 million were registered in the first quarter, 305.5 million in the second and 348.2 million in the third quarter.
The impact of the pandemic on sports betting
The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the online sports betting sector, as evidenced by the drop in investments, from 149.2 million in the first quarter to 90.7 million in the second quarter, a period in which virtually all sports competitions were suspended.
Subsequently, there was a recovery in the sector and an increase in turnover, reaching around 300 million per quarter. This figure was largely surpassed in the best quarter of the activity, the first of 2021, when online sports betting moved 423.8 million.
In the years 2018 and 2019, although still significant, the amounts involved in the bets were more modest. In 2018, 391.8 million euros were registered, while in 2019 this amount was 543.2 million euros, largely due to the 185.7 million euros moved in the last months of that year.
Total sports bets placed between 2018 and 2022, even without the fourth quarter report, amount to €4,169 million. During that same period, gross revenue was 811.1 million euros, corresponding to the difference between the total amount of bets and the value awarded in prizes.
Again, 2021 was the most profitable year, with gross revenue of 251.1 million euros. The best quarter of the analyzed period was the first three months of 2022, when gross revenue reached 77.7 million euros.
According to reports from the Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service of Turismo de Portugal, gross revenue from sports betting was 78.9 million in 2018, 107.5 million in 2019 and 161.9 million in 2020, below 2021 and also last year, which, in the first nine months, had already secured a gross revenue of 211.7 million.
