Government revenues from licenses and taxes

Portugal is building gambling as a regulated ecosystem with a transparent fiscal architecture. State revenues consist of several layers: licenses/concessions, special taxes on gambling (vertical), corporate taxes and insurance premiums, as well as social contributions from national lotteries Jogos Santa Casa. Below is the structure, cash flows and key factors affecting the budget effect.

1) Main sources of state revenue

1. Licenses and concessions

Online licenses (casinos, bets): primary fees, regular payments for maintaining the license, verification of compliance and certifications.

Land casino concessions: fees for the right to work in certain zones/regions, conditions for investment and infrastructure upgrades.

2. Special taxes by vertical

Casino (offline/online): Gross Gaming Income (GGR) taxes; rates vary by channel and product.

Sports betting: GGR tax or mixed model; additionally, contributions to the development of sports are possible.

Bingo and gaming clubs: fixed fees/taxes under separate rules for the socially oriented segment.

3. Lotteries (SCML/Jogos Santa Casa)

Part of the gross revenue and profit is directed to health care, sports, culture, social support and other socially useful areas.

4. National taxes and contributions

Corporate income tax, income tax (from payroll funds), social contributions.

VAT on related operations (in the field of services not related to the game itself), municipal fees (tourism, outdoor advertising, events).

2) How money "goes" through the system

Player → operator: deposits, bets, participation in lotteries/bingo → GGR (bets minus winnings) is formed.

Operator → State:

Special taxes on GGR/vertical rates.
Periodic license/concession payments.
Corporate taxes, personnel insurance premiums, related fees (certification, audit).
SCML → state/society: earmarked contributions to social funds according to the mandate and distribution rules.

3) Verticals and their fiscal features

Land casinos: a consistently high contribution to the budget due to GGR, concession conditions and connection with tourism/MICE. For the state, not only taxes are important, but also multipliers (jobs, VAT in HoReCa, transport, events).

Online casinos (slots, live): a growing channel with a predictable tax base (GGR), clear reporting, high requirements for RG and KYC. Driver - mobile UX, local payments (Multibanco, MB Way).

Sports betting: sensitive to the calendar of top leagues (football), but online provide a stable flow from in-play. Targeted contributions to sports/youth programs are possible.

Lotteries (SCML): Largest population reach and regular receipts. Social mission is the key to public legitimacy: a significant share is directed to priority areas of the public sector.

Bingo/clubs: Moderate tax return in absolute but important social function and revenue predictability.

4) Indirect revenues and multipliers

Tourism: casino resorts increase the load of hotels and restaurants, stimulate events, congresses, festivals.

Employment and salaries: direct jobs (croupier, IT, risk managers, marketing) and indirect (catering, security, logistics).

Technology sector: payment providers, live game studios, data centers, outsourcing engineering, certification laboratories - all pay taxes and invest in competencies.

5) Transparency, control and compliance

SRIJ (regulator) and related bodies monitor compliance with the rules, certification of RNG/live studios, responsible play policy, reporting on GGR/taxes and payments.

Audit and reporting: regular reports of operators, control cuts for bonuses, shares and marketing.

Responsible play (RG): limits of deposits/time/loss, "cooling" when changing limits, self-exclusion. For the state, this reduces social costs while maintaining market stability.

6) Illustrative cash flow model

💡 Conditional example:
- The online casino operator generates 100 GGR units per month.
- Special tax on GGR + royalties give the state a fixed share.
- Plus corporate income tax (after accounting for expenses: content royalties to providers, payment commissions, salaries, marketing).
- Additional revenues appear through VAT and employee income tax, as well as municipal fees (if applicable).
The model shows that the fiscal return is formed not by one tax, but by a "package" of payments, in which GGR taxes are the core.

7) Risks and responses

Gray market: diversion of traffic to nelіtsenzirovannyye sites reduces the tax base. The answer is domain/IP blocking, education, partnerships with payment organizations.

Macroeconomics: lower consumer spending is reflected in GGR; offset by product line expansion and seasonal activities.

Regulatory tightening: adjustments to advertising rules, bonuses, KYC thresholds are possible - predictability for business and budget is important.

Technological risks: provider failures, fraud, cyber threats - require security investments (WAF, anti-fraud ML, certification, DR plans).

8) Trends 2025-2030: what affects the budget

Online channel growth: mobile segment and live content expand the GGR base, increasing the regularity of fiscal revenues.

Payment efficiency: development of MB Way/Multibanco, accelerated conclusions with strict KYC - increase conversion and transparency.

Analytics and martech: personalization within RG increases retention in the "white" segment, stabilizing tax flows.

Integration with tourism: large events and MICE packages based on casino sites increase the indirect income of the regions.

The social mandate of lotteries: stable support for health, sport and culture strengthens public consensus around a regulated market.

9) What matters to players, business and the state

Players: choosing licensed operators is software honesty, data protection and transparent payments.

Operators: plan TCO taking into account all fiscal layers (GGR taxes/rates, licenses/concessions, corporate taxes, contributions), invest in RG and anti-fraud.

The state: maintain predictability of rules, strengthen opposition to the gray segment and develop reporting analytics for verticals and regions.

10) Fiscal Sustainability Short Checklist

1. Wide licensing and understandable onboarding requirements for operators.

2. Transparent base of GGR taxation with clear calculation method.

3. Stable rules for bonuses/advertising and timely compliance updates.

4. Integration with payment rails (Multibanco, MB Way) and transaction monitoring.

5. RG and risk prevention - reducing social costs and long-term revenue sustainability.

Bottom line: State revenues from gambling in Portugal are formed by several contours - from licenses and concessions to taxes on GGR and targeted deductions of SCML lotteries. Strong regulation, digital payments and responsible play create a predictable fiscal base, and tourism and technological infrastructure reinforce the indirect budgetary effect. This allows the market to remain sustainable and socially useful in the horizon until 2030.