Portugal’s SRIJ Categorized Live Odds as Illegal Gambling Advertisement

Serviço de Regulação Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), Portugal’s gambling regulator, has decided to crack down on odd providers. The country’s new rules on gambling prohibit the posting of odds during live games.

SRIJ Banned Live Odds from All Platforms

The ban on live odds was introduced as No.1/2022/SRIJ on March 18. It seeks to end what the authority now considers illegal advertising of gambling products. The regulator ruled that odds should not be incorporated into any sports events, both inside the venue’s LED screens during a sports game, during broadcasts and on operators’ online platforms and outlets.

Refusing to adhere to this rule will be considered an attempt at illegal advertising and perpetrators risk being reprimanded by the SRIJ and receiving appropriate penalties. 

Portugal’s decision to prohibit odds feeds during sports games is a result of the country’s policies against the advertisement of gambling products. In 2021, Portugal’s government discussed two bills that envisioned the regulation of gambling ads. Following the proposals’ approval in October, Portugal classified gambling ads under the same category as liquor ads and promptly imposed a strict time frame for them to air.

As of now, SRIJ’s licensees are only allowed to market their products between 10:30 PM and 7 AM.

The European Market Is Concerned about Gambling Ads

The SRIJ is concerned with how the pandemic affected people’s gambling habits and is continuously seeking to prevent the gambling harm rates from going higher. Furthermore, the authority aims to protect minors from being exposed to gambling content.

The fate of gambling ads is one of the key topics of the gambling industry as numerous operators conclude that regulations are needed. SRIJ’s concerns are not unlike those of other European countries. The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), and the Netherlands’ Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) are all more or less concerned about how ads encourage irresponsible gambling.

The UKGC is always looking out for breaches in its rulings and is acting against licensees who do not play by its rules. Just two weeks ago, the British regulator fined two operators after both of them were found guilty of sending promotional emails to self-excluded customers.

The ANJ, on the other hand, has growing concerns about the gambling harm rates and the huge number of underage bettors. Because of this, the French authority banned ads that represent gambling as an easy way to become successful in life.

The newly-regulated Dutch market is just as aware of the dangers of unregulated ads. Seeking to maintain its integrity, the KSA recently fined an operator for launching prohibited ads on Twitter.