Portugal’s online gambling operators are bracing for the possibility that their casino and poker verticals could be suspended for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, Portuguese legislators approved Bill-326, which proposes to establish “partial or total limitations on access to online gaming platforms” during the country’s state of emergency due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The bill’s accompanying text notes that Portugal has closed all its land-based gambling venues to prevent further COVID-19 transmission, while claiming that local residents’ self-isolation had exposed them to “unlimited and uncontrolled access to online gaming channels.”

The text singles out “casino games, bingo and poker” as posing a particularly addictive threat in the current crisis. The text includes a link to a site that claims online casino and poker growth has risen by double-digits since the pandemic took hold. This claim turns out to be entirely based on a recent trading update by UK-listed 888 Holdings, which launched its Portugal-licensed site last year.