Portuguese regulator reveals licensing details
Ahead of Monday's implementation a clearer picture of how Portugal's regulatory framework will work is beginning to emerge
Applications for Portuguese online gambling licences are unlikely to be accepted before September, according to new details on the licensing process released by Turismo de Portugal, the government body overseeing Portugal’s upcoming online gambling regulation.
The regulator has moved to clarify the licensing process just days before its implementation, as despite the country’s new regulatory framework having entered into law in April, a number of uncertainties continue to linger over a procedure which goes live on 29 June.
Among the clarifications made at a special meeting held earlier this week, Turismo de Portugal confirmed that there will be no limit on the number of licences issued and that licences will be split into four categories: casino games fixed odds sports bets, mutual and fixed odds horse racing betting and bingo.
It said the fee for licensees would be announced next week and also outlined a timescale for implementation, saying it would publish the draft regulation, which will include game technical system requirements, on Monday.
Operators will then have until 13 July to present suggested changes to the draft, with the official publication of the final technical documentation expected on 7 August. Operators will likely have to wait until September before they can apply for an actual licence.
A senior figure at a major online gambling firm told eGaming Review this morning that it had a representative at the Turismo de Portugal meeting alongside several other operators, but was still in the process of “learning as much as we can about the new regime”.
Prohibitively high tax rates, and the decision to tax sports betting on turnover rather than revenue, has led to doubts over how many operators will apply for a Portuguese licence. The country has set its egaming tax rate at 8% of turnover up to the first 30m, rising to 16% thereafter, although exchanges will be taxed at 15% of revenues.
António Moura Portugal, a partner at ABBC & Associados law firm in Lisbon, said that the controversial tax rate will likely stay in place for at least the next two years, after which there will be a period of evaluation.
The new regime, which opens up current monopoly Santa Casa de la Misericordia to outside competition, was approved by the Portuguese government in February.
Before passing the bill, accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers urged the Portuguese government to rethink the tax rate or risk losing out on 20m in tax receipts.