Industry News

From strength to strength, Ivo Doroteia, CEO of Sportingtech, looks at the growing prominence of Portugal’s betting market

Published

10 months ago

November 30, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Ivo Doroteia, CEO of Sportingtech, looks at the growing prominence of Portugal’s betting market and the country’s prospects for becoming an established presence in Europe

The Portuguese market is one that has often operated in the shadow of its neighbor, Spain. With good reason: a much larger country, it possesses a player base that dwarfs Portugal’s and has always historically been further ahead in terms of regulating online gambling.

Prospects for a narrowing of the gap between the two came following the introduction of a regulated online framework in 2015, though optimism for positive change in Portugal was initially met with skepticism in equal measure. The naysayers were inevitably proved wrong; today, market growth is clear to see, with several high-profile operators performing well in the region, even in comparison to other, much larger European countries.

From my perspective, this was expected – Portugal’s land-based industry has always been robust, with bricks-and-mortar casinos consistently displaying good numbers for the likes of lottery and bingo, and the renaissance of sports betting is just another string to the market’s bow.

These past 18 months have seen a dramatic shift in fortunes for the Portuguese market – figures from Q4 2020 onwards show strong growth for gambling in the country, with sports betting leading the charge. The growth can be attributed to a number of factors, including Covid-induced lockdowns benefiting the shift from land-based to online and a changing of fiscal policies in 2020 removing the higher rates of tax for betting and gaming.

Whatever the cause, it is clear today that the presence of top-tier industry players now makes Portugal an extremely attractive proposition indeed, and no one is better positioned to take advantage of this fact than Sportingtech, with its extensive knowledge of the market and varied range of leading sports betting platforms.

Portugal is a country with sports at its heart, and now it has an effective means to bet on it. Questions have been raised about the long-term viability of this growth, some suggesting that a post-lockdown world will revert to type, with land-based betting once again taking precedent.

I disagree with this sentiment – the ingredients for sustained success are very much present in Portugal and I see no reason to suggest that this market will be anything other than a bastion for sports betting on the worldwide stage. The difficult battle, acquisition, has already been won – retention is now the market’s key directive. Sportingtech’s Quantum platform is expertly placed to assist in this – Quantum Power, for instance, is designed to improve and boost both player acquisition and retention and is a fully localized product, featuring open APIs for full integration and customization.

The sharp increase in numbers will level out in time, but this is to be expected. What the market must do to future-proof the progress it has made is provide stability with robust and scalable platforms. This, combined with high-quality content and good UI/UX, will provide a workable framework for a continuation of current trends. This would, in turn, attract even more tier-one operators who, once established with a tried-and-true platform like Quantum, could fuel the second wave of growth.

Online gambling in Portugal has now established itself, and emphatically so. While proceeding with caution, the market must take constructive steps to solidify its position as a potential cornerstone of the European industry. Putting faith in the platforms that have already proved they are worthy of fuelling growth, such as Quantum, is one such step. The stage is set for this market to truly make its mark on the betting industry: underestimate it at your peril.

Related Topics:CEO of Sportingtech Ivo Doroteia Online gambling in Portugal Portugal’s betting market Quantum Spain

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Affiliate Industry

Best iGaming Affiliate for the second half of 2022

Published

11 hours ago

October 3, 2022

Gaspar Incze

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The online gambling market is more prominent than ever and it is likely that this steep increase is only going to continue in the future. Worldwide, hundreds of companies appear daily, aiming to offer the best services to players and other businesses alike. After all, iGaming does not only refer to the online casino itself, but the huge ecosystem behind it as well, with software providers, operators, regulators, marketing partners and affiliates among others.

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Finally, it is clear that a successful affiliate partner must communicate with its audience in an effective way. While written text is highly effective in conveying information, readers love visual stimulation, which makes any marketing material more inviting and memorable. AFUN provides their affiliate partners with such resources – banners, videos, etc. – to facilitate the work of its partners.

In conclusion

All in all, AFUN is a great platform that is present globally. With promising results and a focus on customers and business partners, the company offers great opportunities on the market. Check out their platform for further information, or contact them to find out more on their LinkedIn page.

Industry News

Casino Plus Bonus: New English Edition is live!

Published

4 days ago

September 30, 2022

Gaspar Incze

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Casino Plus Bonus, the leading German gambling news and review portal has finally launched its English language Edition! It features exclusive news covering everything you need to know about the international Gambling scene. The goal of the new Casino Plus Bonus version is to bring the successful concept of this leading iGaming informational platform to an international scale. While the portal has originally been a reference point for gamblers across Germany, Switzerland and Austria, it is now available for a Worldwide audience.

What is new for Casino Plus Bonus?

With the beta-testing complete, the English Edition of Casino Plus Bonus is now fully functional and available on all devices. One interesting feature is that the English-language version has a special technological focus on mobile devices. This is due to the ever growing popularity of mobile gaming.

Jack Bannon, publisher of the English Edition, said:

“The English-language version of Casino Plus Bonus is a very challenging and motivating undertaking. We are starting from an influential position with credible brand recognition crossing over from the German language versions of the portal. We are already taking the different cultural and behavioral particularities of an international audience into consideration, as well as recognizing the multiple regulation frameworks across various jurisdictions. Naturally, our goal is to consistently keep readers fully informed on developments in their respective market and offer the best casino promotions available to our audience.”

What does Casino Plus Bonus feature?

Casino Plus Bonus is a leading informational platform that covers news about the casino industry, game producers and new game releases, as well as interviews with important personalities in the gambling industry. It also has a dedicated team of experts in the casino testing field, that review and provide ratings for online casino provider. Additionally, Casino Plus Bonus offers a great selection of service articles, such as how-to-guides, as well as a wide selection of exclusive casino bonuses.

The International Edition will have a focus on Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland as main English-speaking countries. However, also India and other countries that have an audience that searches and reads iGaming content in English, for example CEE will be taken into consideration. Each country has licensed casino operators that offer special deals and Casino Plus Bonus takes that into account with dedicated casino listings.

What does the English Edition of Casino Plus Bonus focus on?

Apart from the usual features of Casino Plus Bonus, the new English version will have a new focus: The new English-language portal will pay particular attention to special promotions. Every promotion will be tested and validated before it is published to the target audience. Most of those promotions include no deposit bonuses and free spins and are exclusive for the readership.

Moreover, the English Edition will have a focus on English-speaking countries, such as Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, as well as India and other countries that have an audience that searches and reads iGaming content in English.

Georg Heinrich, Founder and Publisher of the German edition added:

“We are extremely happy to have Jack Bannon and his team on board. We believe that parts of our winning concept translated into leadership on the German market can also be transferred into the creation of an informational iGaming portal for an international audience. Furthermore, Jack has extensive publishing experience in the gambling field and will develop the international edition of our iGaming informational product further.”

Industry News

FDJ Launches New Payment Solution Nirio

Published

4 days ago

September 30, 2022

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

French national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) has launched a new payment solution designed to help households pay their rent and bills.

Nirio was announced earlier this year and represents a collaboration between FDJ and the French Confederation of Tobacconists.

This solution will supposedly allow citizens to pay their water, gas, electricity or telephone bills – as well as rent – at authorised outlets.

FDJ explained how Nirio works: “After scanning their invoice using the Nirio application, the user will have a payment QR code generated on their smartphone, which they can present to a partner merchant.

“After checking their identity document, the user can pay the bill in cash or by card. A proof of payment will then be given to them.”

Currently, 10,000 FDJ partner merchants have signed up to offer Nirio, of which more than half are already approved by France’s Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR).

FDJ has also partnered with housing firm Seqens, who will now, through Nirio, accept rent payments in cash or by card at approved points of sale.

According to FDJ, six million households in France do not wish to use direct debit to pay their bills. Consequently, it believes Nirio will serve as a preferable alternative.

“What is important for our group is to put people back at the heart of the payment of daily bills, by offering an alternative, practical and fast way for people who are sometimes far from urban areas or resistant to online payment,” said Raphaël Botbol, FDJ’s Strategy, Innovation and New Activities Director.