Legislative Decree 282/2003 sought to grant SCML a license to essentially operate online and prohibit all other operators from providing their services online or via any electronic device.Įven with this restriction in place, many online operators continued to provide their services to Portugal and banks continued to honour transactions. The SCML offered only pooled betting, rather than traditional fixed odds sports betting.Īs internet gaming showed signs of popularity in the early 2000s, the Portuguese government stepped in and added additional clarification on their gambling laws. Traditionally, all sports betting activity in Portugal was run exclusively by the Santa Casa de Misericordia de Lisboa (SCML), which used the profits generated from betting to fund social programs to help the elderly and children in the Lisbon area.
Yes, online betting is fully legalized and regulated in Portugal.
