Portugal’s online gambling operators reported revenue growth of nearly one-quarter in the second full year of the regulated market’s existence.

Figures released this week by the Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ) regulatory body show the state’s nine online gambling licensees (recently expanded to 10) generated combined revenue of €43m in the final three months of 2018, a nearly 18% improvement over the same period last year.

The country’s sports betting licensees reported revenue of €21.6m in Q4, a modest €1.1m rise from Q4 2017. Betting turnover was up nearly one-third to €110.6m, significantly higher than operators reported during last summer’s FIFA World Cup months, but the revenue figure failed to match pace thanks to a spate of punter-friendly results in December, during which operator revenue fell 9% year-on-year.

Online casino revenue – into which the SRIJ bundles online poker – hit a record €21.5m in Q4, one-third higher from Q417 and €1.1m higher than Q318. Slots accounted for more than three-fifths of this bounty, while roulette and blackjack claimed 14% and 8.5% shares, respectively. Poker cash games earned a 10.6% slice while tournament managed a 5.3% share.