Lisbon, Sept. 24, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Online Betting and Gambling Association (APAJO) has defended online gambling advertising as "the only way" for consumers to distinguish between licensed and unlicensed operators, following Livre's suggestion to impose limitations.
"Advertising is the only real advantage that licensed operators have over illegal ones. And it's the only way for Portuguese consumers to distinguish between the licensed and the unlicensed, the safe and the unsafe," said APAJO president Ricardo Domingues in a commentary published on Wednesday.
The APAJO president's comment comes after the Livre party announced on Tuesday that it wants to ban the sale of scratch cards in healthcare establishments and limit advertising for online gambling and betting, even proposing that it be banned in sports competitions such as football.
"Online gambling has the big problem of being very invisible, it's a very invisible addiction because it happens, there it is, on the mobile phone, on the computer, when nobody else realises that this addiction is taking place," warned Livre's parliamentary leader and spokesperson, Isabel Mendes Lopes, at a press conference in the Parliament.
In addition, Livre proposes limitations on gambling and betting advertising by amending the Advertising Code, to reverse the current rule: instead of limitations being the exception, they become the norm.
For APAJO, these limitations are not the solution, saying that "advertising restrictions on licensed gambling have had the opposite effect to what Livre says it wants to achieve", referring to "studies in Italy".
In the association's view, limiting advertising will give illegal operators an advantage, "by making it seriously difficult for consumers to distinguish between what is licensed and what is not".
APAJO accused Livre of having "a clear lack of knowledge of the matter" and that the contextualisation of the proposals "seems to result from a position of ideological or personal prejudice and political opportunism".
The president of the association also accused Livre of wanting to "condition the other parties" in parliament and of having resorted to "moral blackmail".
'Livre, for some reason, ignores or prefers to ignore the fact that 40% of Portuguese online gamblers still use illegal platforms', points out the industry association, which says that three quarters of them “don't know they're on an illegal site”.
In APAJO's opinion, the presence of Portuguese payment methods, such as Multibanco or MBWay, "legitimise their operation", as well as Portuguese personalities and influencers.
Ricardo Domingues argues that licensed operators comply with the legislation, which is supported by a dense regulatory framework, and primarily follow a non-binding manual of good practices issued by the Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ), unlike illegal operators.
According to the official, in illegal operators, identity is not confirmed, which allows minors and self-excluded individuals access. It is in these operators that "sporting truth has been jeopardised" through the manipulation of results.
"In the regulated market, this type of phenomenon tends not to occur because there is constant monitoring of betting patterns and, since there is a strict identification process when opening an account, potential offenders are easily identified," he said.
Livre's project proposes that this advertising "should not be aimed at vulnerable or at-risk groups", that it should not "praise and glorify gambling itself, or promise easy winnings" or "despise those who don't gamble and those who don't take part in this type of activity", as MP Paulo Muacho explained.
JO/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
