Estoril Sol Digital Online Gaming and Products Services, SA has become Portugal’s first gambling company to have been granted an online casino license by the country’s gambling regulator, following the recent introduction of new gambling laws.
Estoril Sol is an established operator of brick-and-mortar casinos across Portugal. The company owns Casino Lisboa, Casino Estoril, and Casino da Póvoa, and holds a 64% share in the local land-based gambling market.
The EstorilSolCasinos online casino has already gone live with gaming content by Belgian provider GAMING1. Following the announcement about Estoril Sol being granted an online gambling license, the operator revealed that it has formed a joint venture with the aforementioned gaming supplier to manage together Portugal’s first licensed online casino brand. Each of the two parties holds a 50% share in the joint entity.
The EstorilSolCasinos.pt website is now available to Portuguese players with 15 slot titles, blackjack, and two roulette variants, all provided by GAMING1. More gaming content will be added in the weeks to come.
Commenting on the latest announcement, GAMING1 CEO Sylvain Boniver said that the joint venture is indicative of his company’s strength to be “an all-round partner,” not just a content provider. The official also pointed out that Estoril Sol will most certainly benefit from GAMING1’s extensive experience in the online gambling industry.
According to Mr. Boniver, the joint venture has all the aces to move forward in the newly regulated Portuguese market.
Gérard El Allaf, International Development Director at GAMING1, added that a clear synergy between the Belgian gaming provider and the Portuguese gambling operator has been established from the very beginning. The official further noted that Estoril Sol’s knowledge of the local market and GAMING1’s know-how are excellent tools for capitalizing on the fantastic opportunity to manage the country’s first licensed online casino and to establish themselves in the local online gambling market.
Although Estoril Sol has become the first licensed online casino operator, Portugal’s gambling regulator – Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos, granted two more online gambling licenses earlier this year. French operator Betclic Everest and Malta-headquartered Bet Entertainment Technologies Ltd. were greenlighted to operate online sports betting websites within the country’s borders.
However, it was announced that online poker offering will be launched in Portugal no earlier than November 2016 due to issues related to shared liquidity. Portuguese regulators are still discussing whether such practice should be part of the regulations governing the provision of online poker within the country’s borders. Once they come to a decision, it should be reviewed by the European Commission, with the process usually taking about three months. This is why license issuance may begin towards the end of the year in the best-case scenario.
