Market Monitor: Portugal Q1 2019
Key Takeaways
  • Online poker in Portugal generated €3.1 million in revenue during the quarter.
  • Cash games and tournaments combined for a 9% year-over-year increase.
  • Overall, the casino games category (including poker) reached its highest mark on record with €22.6 million in revenue.

Portugal’s single online poker operator PokerStars generated €3.1 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2019. The revenue from the combination of cash games and tournaments represents a 9% increase from the same period in 2018.

Cash games continued to outpace tournament poker generating €2 million in rake compared to the €1.1 million in fees collected from tournaments. Both poker formats posted year-over-year gains.

Cash games were lower by 7.5% compared to Q1 2018 while tournament poker jumped more than 60%. The success of tournament poker in Q1 marked its third highest quarter since the regulated market opened in late 2016.

Slots continued to be the biggest draw in the casino games category generating 63.5% of casino revenue. Poker (cash games and tournaments combined) was the third biggest casino vertical bringing in almost 14%.

Overall, the casino games category reached its highest mark on record with €22.6 million in revenue, beating the previous high mark of €21.5 million in Q4 2018.

Revenue from sports betting also reached its highest mark in Q1 2019 at €24.8 million. The previous high mark goes all the way back to Q3 2016 when sports wagering generated €22.2 million.

Over the course of the last two quarters of 2018, the casino games category flirted with overtaking sports, but in Q1 2019 sports wagering widened its lead by more than €2 million.