Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos in Portugal

Portugal licenses online gambling through the SRIJ

Online gambling in Portugal is legal only with a licence from the Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), the gambling regulator within Turismo de Portugal. The legal framework is the Legal Regime for Online Gambling and Betting (RJO), approved by Decree-Law 66/2015. Licences cover two broad areas: games of chance (online casino, slots, poker, bingo) and fixed-odds sports betting. Horse race betting is licensed separately.

At 30 June 2026, 17 companies held 30 online licences between them. The SRIJ’s list of licensed entities, last updated on 14 September 2026, includes brands such as Betclic, Betano, bwin, Placard, PokerStars, Solverde, ESC Online, 888, Luckia and Casino Portugal, each on a Portuguese .pt domain. The market is growing: gross revenue reached a record €651.9 million in the first half of 2026, with casino games making up about 62% of it in the second quarter.

Betway left Portugal: licences revoked on 9 January 2026

Betway is no longer licensed in Portugal. Turismo de Portugal’s Gaming Commission decided on 5 January 2026 to revoke the two online licences held by GM Gaming Limited for betway.pt, numbered 021 and 022, and the revocation took formal effect on 9 January 2026. It was done at the company’s own request: Betway had suspended its Portuguese operations on 30 September 2024 and said it wanted to focus on markets with more potential. Betway does not appear on the SRIJ’s current list of licensed entities.

If you still had a Betway Portugal account, contact the operator about any remaining balance and keep your records. Do not reply to third parties offering to recover funds for a fee.

How to check a licence and how blocking works

1. Find the brand and website on the SRIJ’s list of licensed entities. Each entry shows the operating company, the website and the licence numbers.
2. Check the domain. Licensed sites use a .pt address listed by the SRIJ; a .com site with the same brand name is not the licensed site.
3. Compare the company name in the site footer with the one on the SRIJ list.
4. If in doubt, contact the SRIJ on 211 140 200 or info.srij@turismodeportugal.pt.

What an SRIJ licence gives you

• Identity and age checks (18 or over) at registration, which protect your account as well as minors.
• Deposit and session limits you can set in your account, and a link to national self-exclusion.
• A named company that the SRIJ can inspect, fine or strip of its licence.
• A regulator to complain to if a dispute with the operator is not resolved.
• Winnings that are not subject to income tax, because the operator pays the IEJO.

Unlicensed operation of online gambling is unlawful in Portugal, and the SRIJ enforces it actively. It sends unlicensed operators a notice to close within 48 hours and, if they ignore it, asks internet providers to block their sites. In the second quarter of 2026 alone it issued 95 closure notices, flagged 113 sites for blocking and referred six cases to the public prosecutor. It also uses an automated detection tool to find illegal sites faster, with staff validating the results.

The crypto casinos we list for Portugal, and what they are not

Of the brands we review, 888 holds an SRIJ licence (888.pt). Our Portugal page also lists offshore crypto casinos that state they accept players from Portugal, such as Roobet, BC.Game, Rainbet and mBit. Be clear about their position:

• None of them is licensed by the SRIJ, so under Portuguese law they are not authorised to offer gambling in Portugal.
• Their sites can be blocked at any time through the SRIJ’s notices to internet providers.
• The SRIJ cannot help you in a dispute with them, and SRIJ self-exclusion does not apply to them.
• The tax exemption players enjoy at licensed sites does not clearly extend to winnings from unlicensed ones (see below).
• Each casino’s own terms decide whether it accepts Portugal; check its restricted-countries list before you deposit.

We list these casinos because they say they accept Portuguese players, not because they are legal in Portugal, and we never suggest ways around a block. If you want the protection of Portuguese law, use an SRIJ-licensed .pt site.

If you do choose an offshore crypto casino, reduce the risk where you can. Start with a small deposit and test a withdrawal before you play with more. Expect identity checks when you cash out, even at sites marketed as "no KYC" (our no-KYC crypto casinos guide explains why). Keep your own records of deposits, withdrawals and chat transcripts, because there is no Portuguese regulator holding them for you. And if a site is blocked, take that as a signal to withdraw rather than as a puzzle to solve. Our guide to crypto casino licences explains what an offshore licence does and does not cover, and our crypto casinos hub explains how we rate them.

Advertising rules

Only licensed operators may advertise online gambling in Portugal. Advertising must not be aimed at minors or exploit vulnerable people, and it must carry responsible gambling messages; the Advertising Code adds limits on placement and content. Promoting unlicensed gambling to people in Portugal is prohibited.

The SRIJ has also gone after unlicensed products that sit at the edge of gambling. In January 2026 it gave the prediction market Polymarket a 48-hour notice to stop serving Portugal. Neighbouring Spain has gone further and fined an affiliate for promoting unlicensed operators in 2026.

Payments, crypto and tax

SRIJ-licensed sites take cards, bank transfer, MB Way and Multibanco references, and e-wallets, and pay out to an account in your name after identity checks. We are not aware of any SRIJ licensee that accepts cryptocurrency. Our guide to deposits and withdrawals explains how payout times depend on the method.

Who pays tax: operators, not players

Licensed operators pay the Special Online Gambling Tax (IEJO), which is charged on gross revenue for casino games and on stakes for fixed-odds sports betting. In March 2026 the Supreme Administrative Court held that this different treatment does not breach the principle of equality. The IEJO raised €92.1 million in the second quarter of 2026.

Because the IEJO is designed as the only tax on this activity, players do not pay income tax on winnings from SRIJ-licensed sites and do not need to declare them. That exemption is tied to licensed play: winnings from unlicensed sites are outside the IEJO system, so take advice from a tax adviser if you have large winnings from an offshore casino. Gains on crypto itself can also be taxable under the rules on crypto assets.

Self-exclusion and help

You can exclude yourself from every SRIJ-licensed site with one request on the SRIJ’s online form, which was redesigned for phones and tablets on 8 April 2026. Choose a fixed period of at least three months or an indefinite exclusion. Existing accounts are suspended or cancelled and you cannot open new ones. If you revoke an exclusion, the revocation only takes effect a month later and never before the three-month minimum. Self-exclusions reached 413,700 in mid-2026, up 26.8% in a year.

• Linha Vida 1414 from ICAD, the public institute for addictive behaviours: free, anonymous and confidential advice by phone on 1414 or by email.
• ICAD’s gambling unit in Lisbon: Portugal’s first public outpatient unit specialising in gambling addiction opened on 18 June 2026. Treatment is free through a referral from the national health service, so ask your family doctor.
• Jogar em Segurança, the line run by the online gambling industry association APAJO: 214 193 748, weekdays from 4 pm to 8 pm.

Treat gambling as paid entertainment with a budget you set in advance. Our responsible gambling guide covers practical limits, and the responsible gambling hub lists services in other countries.

What changed in 2026 and what to watch

• Betway’s licences were formally revoked on 9 January 2026, leaving 17 licensed operators by mid-year.
• The SRIJ stepped up blocking and closure notices and began using automated detection of illegal sites.
• A new self-exclusion form launched on 8 April 2026, and exclusions kept rising.
• The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the IEJO’s different treatment of betting and casino games in March 2026.
• ICAD opened the first public gambling treatment unit in June 2026.

The direction of travel is clear: more players, more self-exclusions, more blocking of unlicensed sites and closer attention to gambling harm as a health issue. Expect the SRIJ to keep widening its enforcement to new products, as it did with prediction markets, and to keep pressing internet providers to act quickly on its notices.

We will review our Portugal listings if a brand in our database obtains an SRIJ licence or if enforcement against offshore sites changes. For comparison, see our pages for Brazil and Canada, and our coverage page for every market.