Comparative Analysis of Online Gambling Laws in Portugal and Rio de Janeiro

(Sponsored) Online gambling is now legal in many countries worldwide, including Portugal and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In this post, we will make a comparative analysis and tell you all you need to know about the gambling online laws in these two locations.

Portugal’s Licensing and Compliance Framework

Portugal’s gambling laws are quite attractive to its residents and visitors. These days, almost every form of online gambling is legalized and controlled in the country. Let’s see what you can play here.

Online Casino Gaming and Lotteries

Online gaming is legal – and highly regulated in Portugal. The country has legalized casino gaming, including slots, casino table games, poker, as well as bingo. All of this falls under the jurisdiction of the Portugese Gambling Regulatory Authority, also known as Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal or SRIJ. The law number 66/2015 regulates online gambling under the SRIJ.

Based on Portuguese compliance framework and gambling laws, players aren’t restricted from gambling at offshore casinos, either. They have a plethora of choices for gambling nowadays, both within the borders of the country and at offshore-licensed casinos.

This gives them access to some of the top websites as listed on 20bet Portugal, which translates into many great options for online betting and casino gambling, as well as some of the most generous bonuses on the market.

Casinos are, by far, the most popular gambling option in the country. Another option for gambling in the country is lotteries. Lotteries are legal in Portugal and they are exclusively operated by the SCML, which is also the case with cross bets in sports and horse race betting.

Sports and Horse Betting

On top of casino games which can be found on trending casino sites, Portugal has also legalized and controls sports betting within its borders, with SRIJ being the regulatory body for this branch, as well. The same authority regulates the online and land-based form of gambling.

Portugal has legalized both sports betting and horse betting. This includes fixed-odds betting and cross bets (the latter are only offered by the SCML i.e. Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa). The only restriction is for fantasy betting, which is strictly prohibited in Portugal.

Social Betting and Skill Games

Finally, we found that you can also find social games in the country without prize in money or money’s worth. These are overseen by the Ministry of Internal Affairs through SGMAI i.e. the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In some cases, municipalities also offer social betting.

Legal Structure in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro just recently made major changes introducing new gambling laws online. The online gambling industry in Brazil became better regulated on January 1, 2024 by introducing mandatory licensing, tax collection and measures for prevention of gambling addiction.

This is all covered with law no. 13,756/2018 and 14,790/2023. According to the new regulations, around 50 companies are authorized to continue operating in the country.
Brazil was first worldwide in terms of visits to betting sites, accounting for an impressive 15% of global traffic.

Here is what is legal in Brazil nowadays.

Casino Gaming

This includes slots and casino table games. It’s prohibited in land-based form, but legal online. It is regulated by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets under the Ministry of Finance. Bingo is prohibited in Brazil, as well.

Betting

The online sports gambling laws in Brazil are more favorable. Sports and horse race betting here is regulated by The National Coordinator Commission of Horse Breeding within the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply. Fantasy betting is unregulated in the country.

Lotteries

Online gambling laws in Brazil also cover lotteries, which are regulated at the federal level under the Ministry of Finance.

Social Gaming and Skill Games

Social gaming and skill games in Brazil are legal, but remain unregulated.

Comparative Tax Policies for Online Casinos

In Portugal, gambling operators are subject to different taxation rates depending on the type of gambling they conduct. They are as follows:

• 8% horse betting
• 25% of the casino and bingo games gaming revenue
• 35% of the commissions for betting exchanges and mutual horse Racing

In Brazil, gambling activities are subject to corporate income tax and social contribution of net profit at a federal rate of 34%. The effective tax rate can vary and goes like this:

• 18.3% of total sales for LOTEX i.e. instant lottery
• 15% horse betting
• 12% casino games and sports betting

Potential Future Reforms in Both Regions

The Portugese iGaming market has higher-than-average entry costs, which might change in the future to make the market more attractive to operators. However, it is very profitable to offer gambling in the country, since the annual revenues exceed €300 million here. We can with certainty say that online gambling will continue to grow in popularity in this country in the future.

As for Brazil and Rio de Janeiro, the laws have only recently started changing. We can expect even more regulations – and law restrictions in the period that follows, both in online poker gambling laws and betting in general.