Portugal raked in €227.4 million ($246.8 million) in online gambling revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023, smashing records for the sixth consecutive quarter. The Q4 revenue marks a 5.6% increase from the previous high of €215.4 million set in Q3, and a remarkable 16.4% surge compared to the same period in 2022.
Notably, online casino games accounted for the lion’s share of revenue, reaching €154.5 million ($168.6 million), 40.7% higher than in the previous year.
Consumer spending on online casino games also soared to new heights, totaling €3.84 billion ($4.2 billion), a 28.7% increase year-on-year. Slots dominated the betting landscape, attracting 83% of all bets, followed by French roulette at 6.9% and blackjack at 4.7%.
In contrast to the impressive growth in online casino gaming, sports betting revenue experienced a decline, dropping to €72.8 million ($79.4 million), a 14.8% decrease compared to €85.4 million in the same period of 2022. However, player spending in this segment witnessed a significant uptick, reaching €532.1 million ($580.6 million), a 16% increase from the previous year.
Football emerged as the top choice for sports bettors, accounting for 74.7% of all wagers, followed by basketball at 10.8% and tennis at 9.7%.
The surge in online gambling activities was accompanied by a rise in new registrations, with 319,500 consumers opening new accounts during the quarter, as compared to 237,600 in the previous year. About 4.2 million online accounts were active by the end of Q4.
Self-exclusion from online gambling rose to 215,000 in Q4, an increase of 18,400 from the previous quarter and about 63,200 more than the year-ago quarter.
However, the land-based gambling sector faced challenges, with revenue shrinking to €64.6 million ($70.5 million), a 3.9% decrease compared to the same period in 2022. Land-based slot machine revenue fell 3.5% year-on-year to €51.4 million, while revenue from casino-style and bingo games dropped 1.5% to €13.7 million.