The basic rule
In Portugal, offering online gambling and betting requires a licence from SRIJ. A site that takes bets from Portugal without that licence is operating illegally, however professional it looks. Before you register on a site, check it on the SRIJ list or with our site check. The guide How to check an SRIJ licence shows the steps.
Warning signs
- It is not on the SRIJ list, or the brand has no licence for apostas desportivas à cota (fixed-odds sports betting).
- The address is similar, but not the same as the one on the list: one letter swapped, a hyphen, a different ending. Licensed operators must use a «.pt» domain and redirect to it all visits from Portugal (RJO, Art. 28(1)).
- It lets you bet without confirming who you are. On a licensed site, registration only becomes active after your identity is verified and it is confirmed that you are not barred from playing (RJO, Art. 37(5)). Online gambling is prohibited for anyone under 18 (RJO, Art. 6(d), and Civil Code, Art. 122).
- It talks about winnings as if they were predictable, or pushes you to deposit quickly. Lawful advertising must not appeal to the easy obtaining of a gain (Advertising Code, Art. 21).
- It reaches you through a link in a message or on social media, rather than you finding it yourself.
- There are complaints about withdrawals that never arrive, balances that vanish or sites that stop opening. These are the complaints SRIJ describes on its page about illegal gambling.
If the site is not on the SRIJ list, it does not matter how professional it looks.
What the law says
- Running or promoting is a crime. Anyone who, without authorisation, runs, promotes, organises or allows online gambling and betting, or offers it in Portugal from servers abroad, faces up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to 500 days (RJO, Art. 49). “Promoting” includes advertising those sites.
How blocking works
When it detects an illegal site, SRIJ notifies the operator to stop within 48 hours. If it does not, SRIJ notifies internet providers, which have 48 hours to block access (RJO, Art. 47(2) and (3), and Art. 31).
In Q2 2026, SRIJ sent 95 shutdown notices to illegal operators, notified 113 sites to internet providers for blocking and made 6 referrals to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Since the regime came into force in 2015, 3,043 sites have been notified for blocking.
SRIJ does not publish the list of blocked sites. So a site that opens in your browser proves nothing: it may simply not have been blocked yet.
On an illegal site, the safety of your money and your data is not assured, no regulator oversees it, and you have no access to the protection tools licensed operators must provide, such as limits and self-exclusion.
How to report a site
SRIJ accepts anonymous reports of illegal gambling through the online form shown on its page O problema do jogo ilegal (in Portuguese). Give the exact address of the site and, if you can, where you found it. Our Illegal gambling page sums up what SRIJ does about these sites.
Official sources
- SRIJ · O problema do jogo ilegal (the problem of illegal gambling, Portuguese)Checked 13/10/2026
- SRIJ · Entidades licenciadas (licensed operators, Portuguese)Checked 13/10/2026
- RJO (Annex I to Decree-Law 66/2015), consolidated text published by SRIJ: Arts. 6, 28, 31, 37, 47, 49 and 58 (Portuguese)Checked 15/10/2026
- Civil Code, consolidated text: Art. 122 (a minor is under eighteen) (Portuguese)Checked 13/10/2026
- Advertising Code (Decree-Law 330/90), consolidated text: Art. 21 (Portuguese)Checked 13/10/2026
- SRIJ · Atividade do Jogo Online em Portugal, Q2 2026 (online gambling report), p. 12 (Portuguese)Checked 13/10/2026
Frequently asked questions
Is there a public list of blocked sites?
We found none. SRIJ notifies illegal operators and internet providers, but it publishes only the list of licensed operators. That is why what counts is being on that list.
What does the law say about illegal sites?
Running, promoting, organising or allowing online gambling without a licence is a crime (RJO, Art. 49). Anyone betting on those sites has no protection under Portuguese law.
If I reach a blocked site through a VPN, does it become legal?
No. The site still has no licence, and you still have no Portuguese legal protection.