Interactive PORTUAL - ONLINE GAMING
Adolfo Mesquita Nunes will be exploring this topic at the EiG show in Berlin.
Portugal online, open and adaptable to future change
Adolfo Mesquita Nunes is Portugal’s Secretary of State for Tourism and will be speaking at the EiG conference in Berlin this month. Mr. Nunes will be presenting a case-study of Portugal’s plans for the regulation of online gaming across the country and G3 took the opportunity to quiz him about his presentation
In the past, the Ministry of Finance and the IGJ has failed to meet deadlines on the drafting of legisla- tion for online gaming and sports betting in Portugal - what have been the difficulties in draft- ing the law and why has it taken so long?
The Portuguese Government has already notified the European Commission on the online gaming legislation drafted by the Government and it is more important now to focus on the final approval and implementation of that legislation than to list the difficulties in drafting the law. Portugal is not the last country to legislate.
How much revenue is the government expecting to generate from online gaming in Portugal, and how realistic are the goals in a country still hurting from the fiscal bailout?
The revenue from online gambling is not the main objective of our legislation. As such, we have not assumed any specific goal on that matter. In fact, the main objective of the Government is to legal- ize this activity and bring to the legal market the operators and gamblers operating in the parallel economy.
What extra responsibilities has the Turismo De Portugal acquired in relation to the regulation of online gaming and how will these duties by split with the Ministry of Finance?
Through his Gaming Inspection Service, Turismo de Portugal is already the regulator for the land- based games. From now on, it will have enhanced competences regarding supervision, control and regulation and also in penal matters, in order to ensure the regularity of the operation and practice of the online licensed games and bets. There is no responsibility in these matters committed to any department of the Treasure or of Ministry of Finance. Even the liquidation of taxes is conduct-
6 6 ed by the Gaming Inspection Service.
Could you summarise for our readers the key points of the new legislation and the reason for their implementation?
l An open model based on the system of licenses granted to the operators that prove to fulfill an amount of technical, financial and liability req- uisites
l An efficient control, inspection and regulation performed by the Gaming Inspection Service which guarantees the security and transparen- cy of the operation of online gambling
l An amount of procedures and obligations to the parts involved in this activity aiming to protect minors, persons with addition problems, to pre- vent fraud and phenomena of money launder- ing
l Advertising will be allowed, but with some restrictions, in particular in what concerns to minors and responsible gambling
l The violation of law or of the rules determined by the Gaming Inspection Service are subjected to high fines.
When will the new legislation become law?
We have already obtained an authorisation from the Parliament to legislate, needed because this involves fiscal matters and criminal issues. Now we have a project of the decree that has already been notified to the European Commission and we are waiting for its approval. Once it’s obtained we will proceed with the legislative process and final approval by the Portuguese council of ministers that then will became law.
Adolfo Mesquita Nunes was appointed as Secretary of State for Tourism of Portugal in February 2013. He was previously a senior associate in one of the Portuguese biggest and leading law firms (MLGTS) mainly practicing in the areas of public procurement, environment and urban planning, as well as in the areas of procedural matters and administrative litigation. Elected as a deputy to the Portuguese Parliament in 2011, Mr. Nunes was Head of the Office of the XVI Portuguese Government Minister of Environment and Urban Planning between 2004 and 2005.
The levels of taxation average those of European countries which have already regulated
online gaming, considering the different types of online
games of chance and sports and horse betting - and the
operators won’t pay any other tax besides the gaming tax.
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