Who LusoPlay Online is
LusoPlay Online is operated by LusoPlay Gaming Lda, a Lisbon-registered company backed by a consortium led by a Portuguese private equity vehicle and a Maltese technology partner responsible for the platform. The brand had been in the SRIJ pipeline since Q3 2024, meaning the full technical and financial assessment took close to 24 months, roughly in line with the previous grant cycle.
The licence is a full online casino authorisation under Decreto-Lei 66/2015, with a separate approval for online sports betting pending and expected before year end. The operator's initial slot library has 820 titles sourced from Pragmatic Play Portugal, Relax Gaming and a locally licensed selection of Habanero Portuguese content.
Why the licensing drought ended
SRIJ paused new online casino approvals in mid-2024 to work through a technical certification backlog on live-dealer game-integrity audits, which had become the bottleneck in the review process. The regulator confirmed in a 29 October note that the backlog is clear and a second approval, rumoured to be a Spanish operator, is expected in the next two months.
A SRIJ spokesperson told the Portuguese press that the pause was never a policy choice and that the regulator remains open to well-capitalised applicants that meet the Decreto-Lei 66/2015 bar. The practical implication is that the Portuguese licensed market, currently 20 online casino licensees, could grow to 22 or 23 by Q2 2027.
New options for Portuguese players
LusoPlay Online launched with a 100% up to €200 welcome offer, 40x wagering on the bonus only, which sits in the middle of the Portuguese bonus range. Payment options include Multibanco, MBWay, Visa/MasterCard and SEPA Direct Debit, with no crypto support planned for the initial launch.
Live dealer product runs on Pragmatic Play Live and Evolution Portuguese tables. The platform supports Portuguese and English UI, with Portuguese-first support hours matching the market standard (9:00 to 01:00 CET). Early stopwatch tests, running since launch day, median withdrawal time of 7 hours for MBWay and 14 hours for SEPA, which is competitive for a first-month operator.
IEJO tax impact
Portuguese online casino operators pay the Imposto Especial de Jogo Online, which taxes online slot revenue at 25% of gross gaming revenue and table-game revenue on a sliding scale. LusoPlay Online will pay the same rate as every other licensee, and the market has not yet made a serious case for IEJO reform despite operator lobbying.
A new licensee increases SRIJ's tax take modestly and also increases the regulator's own fee income, which is pegged to licence count and GGR. That means SRIJ has both regulatory and budgetary reasons to clear more applicants, and the clearing of the backlog should be read in that context.
What this means for Portuguese players
The headline change is more competition. Portuguese players picking from our Portugal rankings now have a fresh entrant to test against the incumbents. LusoPlay's early payout numbers put it in the upper half of the licensed market, though we need 90 days of data before giving it a stable ranking position.
The second-order effect is on bonus terms. Portuguese welcome offers have been drifting upward in wagering requirements over the past 18 months, as incumbents had little competitive pressure. Fresh entry tends to compress wagering requirements by 10% to 15% over a six-month window. We will track whether that pattern repeats.
What is next
SRIJ has signalled a second approval before year end, likely a Spanish-headquartered operator that had been in the pipeline since 2023. If both approvals land as expected, the Portuguese online casino market enters 2027 with 22 licensees and renewed competitive dynamics for the first time in two years.
Portuguese sports betting licensing is a separate track and has its own backlog dynamic. LusoPlay Online's pending sports authorisation will be a useful early test of whether SRIJ has cleared that queue too, or whether the Q3 pause only reached the casino product.
Frequently asked questions
Is LusoPlay Online legally licensed in Portugal?
Yes. SRIJ issued a full .pt online casino licence under Decreto-Lei 66/2015 on 28 October 2026.
Why did Portugal stop licensing casinos in 2024?
SRIJ paused new approvals to clear a certification backlog on live-dealer game-integrity audits. The backlog is now cleared and a second grant is expected before year end.
What payment methods does LusoPlay Online support?
Multibanco, MBWay, Visa/MasterCard and SEPA Direct Debit. Crypto is not supported at launch.
How fast are LusoPlay withdrawals?
Early stopwatch tests show a median 7 hours for MBWay and 14 hours for SEPA. These numbers are first-month data; 90 days of logs are needed before giving the operator a stable ranking slot.
Olivia Clarke
Olivia Clarke runs Flinke's UK and Ireland desk and edits the newsroom. Nine years deep in the regulated British market, she tests every operator we rank by signing up as any player would, running real deposits through the cashier, and timing withdrawals from click to cleared funds.
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