Portugal’s regulated online gambling market relied on its online casino vertical to provide a year-on-year boost in the first quarter of 2018.

Figures released Friday by the Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) regulatory body show the country’s seven licensed online gambling operators generated combined revenue of €33.8m in the three months ending March 31.

The sum is €2.5m higher than the same period last year, but €2.7m lower than the market reported in Q4 2017. Portugal launched its regulated market in May 2016 and has since issued five online sports betting licenses, seven online casino licenses and one online poker permit (the latter to The Stars Group’s PokerStars brand).

The government’s share of this pie amounted to €11.2m, roughly one-third of the total. It’s worth reminding everyone that Portugal taxes its online sportsbooks at an average rate of 12% of betting turnover, not revenue, which has contributed to the regulated market’s inability to ‘channel’ punters to locally licensed sites.