Since the 2015 Legal Regime for Games and Bets, regulators have shut down 1,834 operators, blocked 3,043 sites, and referred 77 cases to prosecutors through June 30, signaling a sweeping crackdown on online gaming activity.

As of late June, nearly 145,000 Brazilian-registered players were on Portuguese online gambling platforms, with Brazilians forming a substantial portion of foreign registrations.

Among foreign registrations, roughly 6.4% come from non-Portuguese nationals, with Brazilians representing about 46% of that foreign cohort and other nationalities like Angolan, Cape Verdean, and Nepalese making up about a quarter.

Despite being a small share of total platform registrations (about 3%), Brazilian players account for nearly half of the foreign online gamblers in Portugal, highlighting cross-border user patterns.

Brazil legalized bets in 2018, and under Lula since 2023 the market has a regulatory framework and taxation regime.

Portugal currently authorizes 17 entities to operate online gambling with a total of 30 licenses: 17 for games of chance, 12 for sports betting, and 1 for bingo.

Active bettors are split across preferences: 23.3% place only sports bets, 33.5% only games of chance, and 43.1% engage in both.

Portugal’s online gambling revenue reached €651.9 million gross in the first half of the year, with €244.6 million coming from sports betting.

Brazil flagged a temporary ban on online casinos and sports betting on Sept. 25 amid concerns over household debt from gambling, with Lula signaling enforcement against influencers promoting Brazilian platforms in Portugal to sidestep rules.

Regulators issued 20 referrals to the Public Prosecutor’s Office by June, split as 14 in Q1 and 6 in Q2.

Although registrations approach five million, only about 1.214 million bettors placed wagers between April and June.

In the first half of the year, the SRIJ issued 201 enforcement notices to shut down illegal operators, with 296 sites blocked (183 in Q1 and 113 in Q2).