Solverde lands online sports betting licence in Portugal

Portuguese casino operator Solverde Group has secured an online sports betting licence in the country.

Awarded by the Comissão de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal, the new licence will enable Solverde to accept online sports bets through its Solverde.pt website.

Solverde, which operates five land-based casinos across Portugal, also holds an online casino licence in the country, offering a range of casino style games via Sasinosolverde.pt.

The new licence comes after national regulator Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ) last month revealed that online gambling revenue drastically increased under lockdown.

Operators recorded a total of €138.9m (£128.1m/$164.8m) in the first half of 2020, up by 44.2% on a year-on-year basis.

However, SRIJ also noted that this boost appeared to be short-lived, with June revenue returning to pre-pandemic levels.