Gambling Regulation and Inspection Service of Portugal

Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (Gambling Regulation and Inspection Service) is the main organization regulating gambling in Portugal, both land-based organizations and various online casinos and bookmakers. At the same time, the main regulator is the Gambling Commission (Comissão de Jogos), which issues gambling licenses.

Regulator licensed casinos

Currently, the commission has issued approximately eight gambling licenses for online gambling. Among the operators licensed in Portugal are Pokerstars, Bet Click, Bet, and Estorilsol casinos.

Portuguese Gambling License review

The Gambling Regulation and Inspection Service of Portugal was established under the Tourism Council of the country and reports directly to the Secretary of state. Following recent changes, some functions have been assigned to the games regulation and inspection service. Online gambling became regulated on June 28, 2015, when the relevant law appeared.

In general, the regulation of the casino market has been carried out since 1990, but only in 2011, there were organizations entirely responsible for the regulation of this area.

Officially in the country, the category of gambling includes the following games:

• American and French roulette,
• dice, sports betting,
• table games (poker, baccarat, blackjack, etc.),
• pokie machines.

At the same time, the regulator reserves the right to recognize any gambling game after the necessary analysis. In Portugal, there are actually two organizations responsible for regulating the gambling market:

Gambling Regulation and Inspection Service (S erviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos) – SRIJ

This organization is engaged in:

• Inspects and regulates the online gambling industry
• Develops instructions and manuals
• It provides technical support to the police authorities and helps to prevent offenses related to the illegal organization of gambling in the state's territory, including the Internet.
• Develop regulations and ways to interact with other authorities to prevent and punish illegal gambling, including online casinos. 
• Detection of violations in the field of gambling advertising
• Appointment of compensation payments and tax rates related to the activities of companies engaged in gambling, including online casinos. 
• It consists of four departments: The Department of Planning and Control of Gambling Activity, the Department of Regulation of Gambling, the Department of Management of Gaming Projects, and the Department of Online Gambling

Gambling Commission (Comissão de Jogos) - SCML

It has the following areas of responsibility:

• Issuance of licenses for online gambling and betting
• Control and organization of the gambling regulation and inspection Service
  Licensing rules 
• Monitors compliance with license obligations by operators
• May impose penalties in case of violation of agreements by operators, including gambling advertising.
• Approval of the rules of organization of gambling on the territory of the state, including the Internet space
• Approves the list of games that fall into the category of "gambling". Defines and approves the types of bets and types of outcomes that can be in betting companies.
• Sets the total amount of deposits possible in online casinos and land-based operators.
  Inspects technical aspects of online casinos
• Requests the relevant authorities to check the economic, financial, and tax components of the operators who have received licenses.

Applies measures to restrict access to gambling establishments in the state's territory.

SRIJ responsibly approaches the performance of its duties. For example, in 2017, there was an incident. The regulator suspected that the bets on the match Feirense-RIU were contractual. After collecting the evidence, it was submitted to the relevant authorities. In general, the Commission regularly verifies various gambling establishments, including online casinos, for compliance with licensing conditions. 

The regulator takes a responsible approach to protecting consumers of gambling services from gambling addiction. A number of preventive measures are being developed. For example, land-based casinos are located only in certain gambling zones. Players can request self-exclusion not only in land-based but also online casinos by filling out a special form on the regulator's website.

License types of Portuguese Gambling License

The regulator licenses almost all types of gambling available in land-based and online gambling. There are the following types of gambling licenses:

• Online casino license includes licensing activities, land-based and online casinos providing access to video pokies, table games, bingo, and poker. Fully regulated by the SRIJ.
• Sports betting license includes fixed odds bets, regulated online by the SRIJ.
• Horse race betting license is for all types of races if they are regulated separately from other types of bets. A responsible regulator in the Internet space SRIJ.
• Lottery license is for any kind of lottery. The scope of activity is under the responsibility of SCML.

Licenses are issued based on a tender. Only citizens of the European Union can participate. A foreign company must have an office in Portugal if it wishes to become a bidder. At the same time, unlike most countries, foreign companies should not cooperate with local land-based casinos.

You can apply for participation in the tender at any time, and the number of licenses sold is not limited.

The company must provide complete information about available casino games, providers, security systems, and player records if an online casino is licensed. The regulator cooperates with almost all independent certifying laboratories (GLI, eCOGRA, QUINEL, etc.) in the gambling industry, so it is possible to require the provision of certificates.

The license for online casinos is valid for three years, with the possibility of further extension for the same period if the operator does not violate the terms of cooperation, regularly pays taxes, and fulfills the obligations of "social responsibility."

The cost of obtaining a license for an online casino is approximately 20,000 Euros. If you plan to open a bookmaker's office, the operator must pay 2000 Euros for each type of bet. The online operator pays monthly tax from 15 to 30% depending on the type of gambling services.

Dispute resolution

On the official website of the regulator, Сasinoz team could not find information about complaints from the players on any online casino. But given that the regulator is a member of the European Commission for the protection of the rights of players, there are still chances to get help if necessary. Therefore, we recommend that you send your claims through the feedback form.

Conclusion

S erviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos is an ambiguous regulator of online gambling. On the official website, players can find information on where and to whom to submit complaints, for example, of non-payment of winnings from online casinos. However, according to all the canons of this industry, it is the licensee who should assume the functions of the organization resolving disputes between the player and the online casino.

Moreover, Сasinoz found no information on the managing players' complaints. However, in general, if we evaluate the basic functionality of the regulator, it copes with its duties quite well.