Market Monitor: Portugal Q2 2019
Key Takeaways
  • Online poker operators in the Portuguese regulated market generated €2.9 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2019.
  • The combination of cash games and tournaments generated the second lowest amount of revenue in the history of the regulated market.

Online poker operators in the Portuguese regulated market generated €2.9 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2019. The combination of cash games and tournaments generated the second lowest amount of revenue in the history of the regulated market last quarter, just barely surpassing the low point in Q1 2018.

Driving poker revenue down was the underperformance of cash games which generated a mere €1.9 million, the lowest amount on record and nearly a 26% decrease from the same quarter last year. Cash game revenue has been in decline both on a sequential and annual basis in 2019.

Tournament poker revenue dipped below the €1 million mark for the first time in three quarters in Q2, but the €972,000 still accounted for a 13% rise compared to Q2 2018.

In total, online poker revenue returned to a familiar state of annual decline, dropping 16% from Q2 2018 after posting a 9.1% year-over-year increase (the first in the market) in the first quarter of the year.

Overall, gross gaming revenue from igaming reached a new high in Portugal last quarter, posting €48.3 million. Q2 2019 marked the first time that revenue from casino games outpaced its sports betting counterpart, accounting for more than 52% of all revenue generated.

The casino games category reached another all-time high for the market with €25.3 million in revenue, a trend that has been in force for five consecutive quarters.

Slots continued to represent the biggest portion of online casino game revenue, taking in more than 67% of the total revenue generated in the category. Roulette was the second most popular vertical (13.5%) and poker (cash games and tournaments combined) represented 11.4% of the casino games category.