Hello! We are glad to introduce you to the best sports betting platforms in Portugal. We have thoroughly explored all of the best sports betting platforms for Portuguese punters.
On this page, we cover everything you need to know about online gambling in Portugal, from selecting between licensed and international operators, popular banking options to the most wagered sport.
Definitely, online betting in Portugal is fully legal and regulated. In the past, all sports betting in Portugal was a preserve of Santa Casa de Misericordia de Lisboa (SCML), which uses profits from gambling to finance social welfare programs meant for assisting elderly and children living in Lisbon. The SCML provides only pooled bets but not fixed odds as is common with regular sportsbooks.
When internet gaming started gaining ground in the early 2000s, the Portuguese government intervened to make its gambling laws more lucid. The Legislative Decree 282/2003 was meant to license SCML in order to give it an opportunity to conduct its activities online only while other providers will not be allowed this privilege either through electronic devices or online.
Even under these regulations, a lot of online operators still offered their services to Portugal while the banks kept on processing payments. Even after losing against the Portuguese monopoly in ECJ, Bwin continued providing its service online. This led Portugal into introducing ISP blocks on international sites which had very limited impact.
Portugal announced it was going to liberalize and regulate the digital marketplace in 2013. With economic hardships persisting across Europe, which led to Portugal receiving financial bailouts, Spain, Italy and France were hard to ignore as they made revenue from online gaming.
The gambling legislation provided a process for the licensees to apply for licenses in fixed odds betting, casino games and poker. Licenses are issued by Serviço de Regulação Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), or The Gambling Inspection and Regulation Service.
Once regulated, Portugal started taxing its sports betting sites at 15% but by 2020 the figure had gone up to 35%. Those are steep rates that have led to most of those top betting companies exiting the Portuguese market as they are not willing to deal with such high tax rates and other overhead costs such as operating a .pt domain which is specifically meant for Portugal.
This also implies that such sites face limitations in terms of odds and promotions they can offer to players while still being profitable. Notwithstanding, there are alternatives for betting in Portugal.
Even today, there are many international gambling sites that still accept Portuguese players. The advantages of these sites over regulated ones include the following:
With lower overhead costs, international locations have far more favorable odds than the Portuguese counterparts. This translates to larger payouts when a win occurs and an improved prospect of making money in the long run.
Foreign sites can also provide bigger bonuses to players because they can offer more competitive odds. This means not just more profitable welcome bonuses, but also additional free bets, ongoing promotions, and special offers than Portuguese sites.
Although licensed operators can provide a wide array of sports betting, they are still under the control of SRIJ’s permission which may decide to outlaw some types of bets or just little known markets. However, foreign websites have a leeway to try out unusual options not usually associated with traditional betting as well as smaller competitions that cannot be wagered on at the SRIJ.
Many players in Portugal, though, still play on other foreign sites that are not licensed by SRIJ as approved by the Portuguese government. Nevertheless, they cannot be sued for gambling with these offshore bookies.
In Portugal, it’s quite elementary to make a deposit on your sports book account. Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to betting sites, all of the best Portuguese bookmakers have unique banking options. The difference in options between international operators and licensed sites should be obvious.
There are some deposit options that Portuguese bettors will find really useful. The following is a breakdown of some of the most common banking methods on betting sites.
There exist twenty seven Portuguese banks operating on shared automatic teller machines, online banking and internet payments; hence making it a Magnet for betting deposit sites in Portugal. This is accepted widely as an option at many Portuguese sites and also outside the country. In addition to that, even if you are not seeing a specific Multibanco option on a site, your card can be used as Visa or MasterCard and still achieve the same goal of depositing funds into your account using this card.
The world’s most popular e-wallet platform, Skrill has a variety of ways through which you can fund your account and then use it to make deposits, process withdrawals or simply hold funds for later. Most of our recommended betting sites accept Skrill deposits therefore making it perfect for managing your money if you prefer moving funds across different accounts and want to do it in one place.
One can deposit at bookmakers in Portugal using credit cards and debit cards which are highly flexible. Online shopping can sometimes be visually confused with paying by card as it is as easy as that: your card details together with the sum of money you want to deposit are all that you will need to provide, and a few seconds later, the funds will land into your account. Visa and MasterCard dominate credit and debit card acceptance but some sites also offer options such as Discover and American Express.
Paysafecard is a prepaid method for making deposits on many betting sites. You can buy a card from your local shop or from the web and then use the amount shown on it to make a deposit. This is why paysafecard is also perfect for those who do not wish to provide their financial information on gambling websites or those who lack such options as credit cards or online bank transfers.
Portuguese gamblers enjoy watching and gambling in numerous sports from around the globe.
Portuguese top sites for sports betting have options for countless numbers of matches, implying that irrespective of one’s favorite games, one can bet on his/her best teams as well as players. There are some prevalent sports in Portugal too.
Let’s take a look at the four most popular sports in Portuguese bookmakers.
Soccer is the most popular game in Portugal and it is the main source of income for gambling companies running their business in this country. Additionally, you can place bets on Portugal’s national tournament – Primeira Liga, with many websites also offering odds for lower league matches.
However, possibilities are far wider than these. On domestic levels, you can bet in national leagues of different countries in Europe and South America that spans across the world. Moreover, betting sites give their clients an opportunity to stake on more prestigious competitions such as Euro championships, World cups and club cup like Champions league and Europa leagues.
The rate at which basketball has gained popularity worldwide is so high that it almost equals football. Although Portugal cannot be classified as a basketball giant, the game enjoys immense support in the country, and its national team qualified for EuroBasket thrice.
Portuguese sportsbooks can provide bets on many of the biggest leagues in basketball. This includes NBA, but also EuroLeague, where some sites even delve into top European national leagues. FIBA World Championship, Olympics and EuroBasket are other international tournaments you can bet at.
Futsal, just like football, is a competition with 5 players on each side played in a small hard court where improvisation and creativity are highly valued. There are several online bookmakers that cover major futsal tournaments such as the European championships and FIFA Futsal World Cup. Some sites in Portuguese may also offer markets on Campeonato Nacional which is Portugal’s top division of futsal or UEFA Futsal champions league.
Rink hockey, or roller hockey as it’s sometimes called, is a five-a-side game that shares some similarities with ice hockey. The difference here though is that the game is played on a hard surface with players having to be on skates.
The national team of Portugal has clinched 16 world championships in rink hockey and twenty-one European titles. In fact, Portuguese gambling sites provide markets for major international tournaments in this game as well as the biggest domestic leagues such as Spain’s OK Liga and Portugal’s First Division. The Portuguese are currently the current European champions after winning the last world championship held at Angola.
Yes, you can lawfully enjoy internet sports betting in Portugal. This page lists some of the best online sports betting sites for Portuguese bettors. We have researched each site and come up with a list of trustable, reputable operators that you should consider from.
Portugal has a variety of sports betting sites. These fall into two main types: domestic ones licensed by the SRIJ, and foreign bookies that accept Portuguese clients. We have compiled a list of the best gambling portals to help you choose what’s right for you.
The online gambling winnings made by players in whatever forms they may come, whether be it from sports betting or other channels such as casino games, are not taxable. Nevertheless, all taxes are paid by the licensed bookmakers. In essence, you can bet on your preferred sports without any worries of a huge tax bill in case you happen to emerge victorious.
A.If you have any complaints or concerns while playing with a licensed bookmaker in Portugal, you may contact SRIJ. If there is any dispute with the foreign betting sites listed on this page, please get to us through BetByGeo.com.
