Lisbon, April 28, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) received €33.85 million, and the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) received €10.85 million from increased revenues from online sports betting by €8.6 million.
According to data on the distribution of funds from the 2024 Special Online Gambling Tax (IEJO), a document sent today by the Portuguese Sports Confederation (CDP) to the parliamentary groups states that football takes the "lion's share" of the funds distributed by federations and other entities, with the FPF growing from €27.31 million to €33.85 million.
Alongside the FPF, the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP), with €10.85 million, an increase of €2.1 million compared to 2023, means that football got 72.3% of the amount distributed by the sports sector from the sports betting tax.
Out of a total of €61.8 million, football accounts for €44.7 million, followed by tennis, with €9.7 million, or 15.7% of the total, and basketball, with €4.57 million, 7.4%.
On the other hand, the Portuguese Surfing Federation received €5.21, while skating (which has roller hockey under its umbrella), the Paralympic Committee of Portugal (CPP) and the CDP itself received zero, as did athletics, which went from just over €500 to nothing.
On the other hand, the Academic University Sports Federation (FADU) went in the opposite direction, going from zero in 2023 to almost €58,000 last year.
Moreover, the amount given to sport grew by €11 million from 2023 to 2024, to €61.8 million, which means that two organisations collected almost all the money, with football being the sport with the most money raised and distributed.
The figures, requested by the Confederation from SRIJ, were published today in a document sent by SRIJ to the political parties running in the legislative elections on 18 May. This is part of a series of proposals for the sports sector in Portugal, this year advocating a new way of distributing these funds.
The government's State Budget for 2024 included a sum of €54.5 million for sport, which falls short of the amount collected and distributed by this mechanism, and the government later announced extraordinary support, to be implemented until 2028, of an additional €65 million.
In March, the final quarterly report for 2024 from Turismo de Portugal's Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ) had already reported that the year had seen the highest volume of online sports betting ever, totalling €2,053 billion.
If you do the maths annually, last year's two billion is the highest volume of online sports betting ever, €331.6 million more than the total for 2023 (€1.721 billion) and half a million more than for 2022 (€1.482 billion).
The volume of bets totalled €1.402 billion in 2021, which, together with €808.1 million in 2020, brings the total for the last five years to €7.467.9 billion.
This highest annual betting volume also corresponds to the highest gross revenue, of €433.4 million, surpassing the previous maximum, recorded in 2023 (€324.4 million).
SIF/ADB // ADB.
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