- The Portuguese gambling regulator has hinted that more operators could join the market in the coming weeks or months.
- 888 was recently granted a license in the country and is expected to begin offering online poker in the country soon.
- Other major operators, including partypoker, Winamax and Latin-based Aconcagua Poker have all indicated their interest in entering the Portuguese market and are thought to have applied for a license in the country
The Portuguese gambling regulator has hinted that more operators could join the regulated online poker market in the coming weeks or months.
Recently, 888 became only the second operator to be issued a license to operate online poker in Portugal. The company intends to open its door to Portuguese players through shared liquidity with its existing Spanish network soon.
The Portuguese regulator has been notoriously slow in processing license applications. Prior to 888. the last online poker license issued by the SRIJ was back in November 2016 when The Stars Group became the first ever online poker operator to be licensed in the country.
For more than two years, PokerStars ran online poker operations without any regulated competition.
Speaking at the ICE conference in London earlier this month, Manuela Bandeira, the director for the Inspection and Regulation Service of Games (SRIJ), told Gioconews.it, an Italian news site focused on gambling developments, that they are expecting to have more operators licensed in Portugal with shared liquidity in the near future.
“We are hoping to have more operators in Portugal with a shared poker offer. I believe that in a few months, or a few weeks, we will have another operator and in the next few months we will have some more,” said Bandeira.
