Whilst the Remote Gambling Association welcomes the initiative of the Portuguese government in deciding to regulate the Portuguese online gambling market, the proposed punitive taxes on stakes of 8-16% for online sports betting in the present draft law will render the market unviable for the vast majority of online operators who might otherwise decide to apply for licences and invest in Portugal.
The proposed law on online gambling is presently in the process of going through the Portuguese parliamentary process. Such punitive levels of taxation will severely limit competition in the Portuguese sports betting market to the detriment of Portuguese consumers and the tax revenues that the Portuguese state could take were the market to be taxed at a sensible rate of gross gaming revenue.