Portugal gets its first live online casino as NetEnt launches PokerStars

One of the chief digital casino providers, NetEnt, has launched a portfolio of celebrated casino games in Portugal with The Stars Group as part of its development strategy for the regulated sector. The company has achieved technical integration with The Stars Group brands to make its range of award-winning games available to the Portuguese market. The Stars Group is also pursuing a business strategy that features the expansion in the regulated sector as a key growth objective. Already an international leader in online gaming, Full Tilt, BetStars, PokerStars Casino and PokerStars are just some of the popular online casino brands that form part of The Stars Group.

The online casino PokerStars Casino is one of the industry’s largest and part of PokerStars.com. Both live and virtual casino games are available on PokerStars Casino, with Microgaming, NetEnt, iSoftBet, Quickspin, Blueprint, Leander Games, 2 By 2 Gaming and others providing the site with proven software packages. Games on the site are downloadable or playable immediately with PokerStars Casino’s instant play function. Licensing and regulation of the site is provided by the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority and the Isle of Man government.

The Portuguese Online Casino Sector - Q4 2017

In the final quarter of 2017, over 132,000 new customers were signed up by licensed online operators in Portugal. This was approximately 50,000 more than were signed up in the third quarter of that year and brought the sector’s total number of registered customers to 800,000. Most subscribers are aged between 25 and 44 (61%), with younger subscribers aged from 18 to 24 accounting for around a quarter (27.8%) of all subscribers.

The number of subscribers choosing to self-exclude from Portuguese-based gambling sites also rose in Q4 of 2017, rising by 4,600 to a total of 17,600, or 2.2% of total subscribers.

The SRIJ recently announced that it has approached licensees to ask for their insights and opinions regarding how best to improve the regulated online sector. This follows intense criticism from the Remote Gambling Association who states that around 70% of online gamblers in Portugal use sites that hold international licences but do not have permission from the SRIJ for their operations.

Problems with non-licensed casino brands

The SRIJ recently announced that it has approached licensees to ask for their insights and opinions regarding how best to improve the regulated online sector. This follows intense criticism from the Remote Gambling Association who states that around 70% of online gamblers in Portugal use sites that hold international licences but do not have permission from the SRIJ for their operations. The development of the online casino sector in Portugal appears to be in a state of flux and it will be fascinating to see how it develops in future.