Online casinos accepting players from Portugal

Gambling goes back centuries before the invention of the Internet, managing to survive in far worse circumstances than the ones we witness nowadays. This popular pastime has been passed on from one generation to another, across multiple cultures, reaching today’s modern format. After all, with the tech advances present nowadays, it was only a matter of time before it was affected as well.

Nowadays…

… the practice has reached well beyond the range of everyday life, ranking among the top most profitable industries. The entertainment market as a whole has drastically changed and improved, adding diverse new formats to its offering. What was once solely transmitted via TV or radio, or otherwise read on paper is nowadays available on all devices that connect to the Internet.

And gambling…

… as one of the key segments of this industry, has managed to catch up with the latest trends soon enough. It wasn’t long after the appearance of the first online websites that gaming enthusiasts realized they could get their daily dose of casino floor content just like they were getting the news or any of their favorite shows for that matter. 

Online casinos and other gambling platforms…

… were soon released by operators everywhere. This was considered to be the solution to their troubles with geographic locations, travel costs, time consuming and even proper casino floor etiquette. At the same time, maintenance, facility and staff costs were drastically reduced for operators themselves. 

Now, eager players could all but click a few times on their computers and gain instant access anywhere they want. However, the new way of doing business brought about its own challenges, especially due to the fact that plenty of operators and players both thought they could make use of the situation and scam others out of their money instead of doing their part fair and square. As a result, everyone turned reluctant to trust their hard-earned cash with platforms that didn’t stick to their end of the bargain. 

Proper regulation and legislative for this industry segment turned out to be the best course of action to remedy the situation. Governments from all over the world took to the task differently, with some opting to make the most of the new opportunity as soon as possible, while others discarded it altogether as a social malice. Others, yet, turned to evading the matter as it continued to prosper in the grey, and are only now looking into the proper regulative for it.

Portugal is one example…

… of such a jurisdiction that has only introduced legal online gambling on its territory a couple of years back. Still, due to the constant growth and development of the segment, potential for further expansion, as well as the specific provisions in their regulations, it has managed to flourish as one of the more profitable markets globally. All you have to do is check out the terms and regulative for specifics in order to make sure it fits your needs and player preferences, and game on.

Legal Online Gambling in Portugal

In a country that has a developed tourism industry…

… gambling is bound to be closely knit. For Portugal in particular, this is all the more true, especially since the country largely depends on its tourism revenues, with up to 13 million tourists visiting its territory per annum. As in most cases, practically all of them are likely to visit a particular gambling location at least once during their stay.

Portugal has had a well-developed gambling industry for some time now, although they have only just started addressing interactive gaming a few years ago. Up until then, lotteries, sportsbetting and casino gameplay were already permitted by Portuguese law, with some particular stipulations.

More specifically, only the Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) was allowed to provide betting and lottery games at retail locations all over the country. Commercial gambling is also present in this marketplace, with casino-style games of luck and chance being permitted at land-based locations. Due to the connection with tourism, these were chosen based on tourist frequency, with the most popular destinations across the country getting a casino floor on their premises.

However…

… even with the widely accessible casino and betting action across Portugal, online gambling was still missing from the picture, legally at least. After all, enthusiastic players from the country were already being offered online services from a range of offshore operators. However, upon realizing the potential of the industry for further economic development, as well as budget boosts, the country took to regulating the market. 

The country’s regulatory body on matters of gambling and games is the Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ). Back in 2015, April and June, this regulatory body defined the provisions for the new addition to the gambling market and, along with other Portuguese government authorities, legalized the practice. 

Therefore, since early 2016...

... when the final resolutions came into effect, Portugal became yet another country with legal online gambling. Under the letter of the new law, operators, both local and foreign, were able to obtain a license to cater to players from this market in the following verticals – sportsbetting, horserace betting, bingo and games of chance (casino and poker). 

Nevertheless...

... each of these came with strings attached, or in the case with Portuguese regulations, tax policies. Revenue from the SCML monopoly on lottery and betting continued going to charitable donations. As for the commercial segment of the market, heavy taxes were imposed depending on the verticals provided in particular interactive gambling establishments. This took its toll on the gambling industry’s progress, and ultimately resulted in numerous operators withdrawing their services from the market due to unsustainable circumstances. 

Portugal Online Casinos

Even with the situation being as it is...

... the online gambling enthusiasts in the country were able to get their fair share of action. After all, the retreat of many licensed operators opened even wider grounds for the offshore casino and gambling sites that evaded taxes by obtaining licenses in other jurisdictions. 

Players nowadays have all but to look through the selection of casinos, both onshore and offshore, and choose depending on their gameplay and other preferences. Still, considering the latter type offer more variety due to the above mentioned situation, there is one feature that requires attention in particular – licenses. After all, just because the operator isn’t licensed by the national regulatory body doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be licensed by another reliable authority. 

Always remember to check the bottom of the casino’s home page, as most reputable operators tend to list their licenses up front in that section. The best options include casinos licensed by the gambling authoritative body of Curacao, the Malta Gambling Authority, or even the highly regarded and strict UK Gambling Commission. 

Games at Portuguese Online Casinos

Online casino players in Portugal are still able to get the gambling content regularly provided on such platforms despite the difficulties with licensing and taxation. After all, their winnings are not subject to such policies, allowing them to enjoy their chosen game titles to the fullest. As for the selection available, Portuguese online casinos currently pack the following game categories:

• Slots;
• Blackjack;
• Roulette
• Baccarat
• Poker variants;
• Live Dealer table games;
• Video poker

These offer all the latest releases, as well as industry classics, from the top game software providers. Evolution Gaming, NetEnt, Betsoft, Play’n Go, Authentic Gaming, Rival, Asia Gaming, Booming Games and more software companies provide titles for such platforms, further ensuring players will get prime gameplay regardless of their preferred game types.

Mobile Betting

As mentioned…

… while interactive gambling is legal in the country, operators rarely opt to obtain a license by their authority. This resulted in offshore operators making up the majority of service providers on the market, but without necessarily malign effect on the services themselves. In fact, these online operators catering to Portuguese gambling enthusiasts mainly keep up with all the industry innovations, mobile gambling and betting included.

In other words, the casinos…

… as well as other gambling platforms, provide access to their full gameplay portfolio from devices other than a computer or laptop. And with the growing popularity of smartphones and portable devices in general, this turned out to be a major win for everyone. Therefore, players nowadays are able to get their favorite content, bets and games anywhere on the go, both from their Android and iOS-running smartphones and tablets.

Portugal Online Casino Banking & Payment Methods

The legality of online gambling…

… in the country has made the matter of banking easier for everyone involved, offshore operators included. After all, there is no particular ban imposed on banking institutions from facilitating such transactions, and neither are players punished for making deposits or withdrawals to offshore sites licensed by other jurisdictions. 

Some repercussions do exist for online casino operators in particular – they can be blacklisted and blocked by respective ISP upon order. However, with the latest in tech, even this is unlikely to stop eager Portuguese players from sticking to their chosen sites and gameplay.

In order to enjoy real money gambling action, they need to fund their player accounts, and accordingly, find suitable banking methods to cash out their winnings. The top suitable methods include:

• Bank transfer;
• Major credit cards (MasterCard);
• Major debit cards (VisaMaestro)
• Skrill;
• Paysafecard;
• EntroPay.

Due to the fact that Portugal is part of the EU, players are additionally saved the hustle of going through currency exchanges, and getting charged a respective fee. Their national currency is Euro, which is also one of the most widely accepted at banks and payment processing services across the industry.

External References

• FoxBonus.com

FAQs

1. Which poker variants are available at Portuguese online casinos?

- Online casinos catering to Portuguese players most often include the following variants of poker – Casino Hold’em, Omaha and Caribbean Stud poker, among others. 

2. Can gambling enthusiasts enjoy real money poker action at dedicated online poker rooms?

- Yes, there is a number of poker rooms specifically designed for competitive poker action.

3. Are there any sportsbetting options available for them?

- Yes, apart from what is licensed within the Portugal jurisdiction (SCML’s retail monopoly), interactive sportsbetting is largely available for these eager punters.

4. Will players be able to benefit from bonuses and promos like in other online casinos?

- Yes, players are still offered all the major bonuses and promos that are usually available at such gambling platforms – Welcome bonuses, No Deposit bonuses, Loyalty bonuses and reward programs and more.

5. What is the legal gambling age for Portuguese locals?

- The legal gambling age for locals in Portugal is 21, although some casinos have been known to permit access to players only 25 years or more. 

6. What is the legal gambling age for tourists gambling in Portugal?

- Tourists ages 18 or more are allowed to gamble in Portugal legally.

7. What are the taxes imposed on commercial interactive gambling operators?

- The specific taxes depend on the gambling verticals offered by specific operators, and with mandatory combinations of two or more, their charges can run up to half of their total revenue. For sports betting in particular, the tax is 8-16% on the turnover, while horserace betting operators can be charged 15-30%. The same percentage range is charged of the gross gambling revenue from casino and poker games.

8. Is there a Portuguese language version of the specific casinos available?

- Some casinos do include a fully fledged version of their contents in the languages of their target gambling markets, Portuguese included. 

9. Is it mandatory to download and install online casino software when playing from Portugal?

- No, this fully depends on the online casino and their particular design. Therefore, players can choose from the variety of options and avoid downloading software if they aren’t fond of the procedure.

10. How is customer support handled for this player pool?

- Most of the time, these international offshore online casino operators offer customer support in multiple languages, including Portuguese. If not, other more widely used language options are still available, and with 24/7 support across multiple contact channels – phone, email, live chat – assistance is constantly provided for this player pool.