Portuguese Online Betting and Gambling Association

APAJO is a non-profit association established to uphold and promote the online gambling and betting sector and the companies legally operating in Portugall.

Learn More

Portuguese Online Betting and Gambling Association

APAJO is a non-profit association established to uphold and promote the online gambling and betting sector and the companies legally operating in Portugal.

Learn More

Latest News

PokerStars joins APAJO as new affiliate member

PokerStars – part of Flutter Entertainment plc - has officially joined the Portuguese Online Betting and Gambling Association (APAJO) as its newest affiliate member. As one of the first brands launching in the Portuguese regulated market, PokerStars will combine...

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Bacana Play joins APAJO

Skill On Net Limited, who operates in Portugal under the brand Bacana Play, is the newest member of the Portuguese association of online betting and gambling (APAJO). APAJO represents the online gambling industry, and its members are operators duly licenced at...

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APAJO Responsible Gambling Manual

The Portuguese Online Gambling and Betting Association, APAJO, its affiliated members and associates place the measures of safe gambling and player protection at the top of their priorities. In addition to the provisions and mechanisms already provided for in the law, the members undertake to comply with the additional provisions to promote and improve consumer safety.

Apajo Responsible Gaming Manual
Apajo Responsible Gaming Manual

APAJO Responsible Gambling Manual

The Portuguese Online Gambling and Betting Association, APAJO, its affiliated members and associates place the measures of safe gambling and player protection at the top of their priorities. In addition to the provisions and mechanisms already provided for in the law, the members undertake to comply with the additional provisions to promote and improve consumer safety.

About Us

A message from the Chairman

Our goal upon the creation of APAJO in the Spring of 2018 was to help shape the Portuguese regulatory framework for online gambling and betting and to develop consumer protection measures based on scientific evidence. Four years later, we have built a solid research and analysis foundation combined with strong interaction with all stakeholders, from politics to sport, from consumer protection associations to science and the media. At this stage, I would like to thank my predecessor Gabino Oliveira for his excellent work over those years.

Now into the third year of Covid, this industry enjoys several opportunities but faces some challenges too. The shift to e-commerce was accelerated by lockdowns and restrictions, and the increasing figures of online operations are here to prove it. These developments come hand in hand with efficient consumer means of protection based on the possibilities offered by the Internet. The European Union's markets today are regulated with a very diverse range of requirements, thus making it very hard to compare data and efficiency of different regulatory framework, cross-border surveillance and international research. We operate in an online environment with different boundaries from those of the offline world. International cooperation is crucial to keep improving the laws of online gambling. We have followed this path in the past and will further narrow distances with other local and international associations to help harmonize rules where appropriate, mindful of reflecting in the national regulations the local features and preferences.

The new mandate of APAJO, which I will lead as the chairman, will therefore focus on intensifying cooperation with our stakeholders at the national, European and global levels, including common projects and measures for the education and protection of our clients based on empirical research and to which we will contribute in the best way possible.

Ricardo Domingues
President of APAJO

Objectives

  • Acting on behalf of the sector, next to the relevant authorities – and the Gambling Commission and the SRIJ in particular – for the review and implementation of regulations, in accordance with the needs of both the market and the users.
  • Encourage the development of the Internet, equipment, applications, services and infrastructures to assist the growth of online betting and gambling and the digital economy.
  • Encourage the improvement of the sector's operating standards, defending a liberalized, open and competitive market between the entites licensed and duly authorized by the regulatory entity to operate online gambling and betting in Portugal.
  • Promote the dialogue with the different stakeholders in this sector (users, operators, financial sector and public bodies), promoting safe, balanced, responsible and not compulsive online gambling.
  • Promote scientific knowledge, studies and debates on topics of interest to the sector, diagnosing and monitoring the problems affecting it, to assist in the definition of a common strategy establishing the priorities and proposing the right measures for their implementation.

Governing Bodies

GENERAL MEETING

  • Sónia Torrão, representative of Kaizen Gaming International Limited
    Position: President
  • Manuel Silva Carvalho, representative of Solverde, Sociedade de Investimentos Turísticos da Costa Verde, S.A.
    Position: Secretary

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Ricardo Domingues
    Position: President, representative of Bem Operations Limited  
  • António Vieira Coelho
    Position: Member, representative of Estoril Sol Digital, S.A.
  • João Paulo Meireles
    Position: Member
    , representative of GOBET Entretenimento, S.A.
  • António Laranjo
    Position: Member, representative of SFP Online, S.A.
  • Manuel Alexandre Violas
    Position: Member, representative of Solverde - Sociedade de Investimentos Turísticos da Costa Verde, S.A.
  • Ricardo Branquinho
    Position: Member, representative of associada Kaizen Gaming International Ltd.

AUDIT COMMITTEE

  • Calvin Chann, representative of Estoril Sol Digital, S.A.
    Position: President

  • Ulisses Araújo, representative of Bem Operations Limited
    Position: Member

  • Paulo Martins, representative of SFP Online, S.A.
    Position: Member

Articles of Association

View or download the PDF file >

Legislation

The Portuguese Government approved the Legal Regime for Online Gambling, through Decree-Law No. 66/2015, of April 29, in which the terms and conditions pertaining to the operation and practice of online gambling in Portugal are defined.

 

For further information please visit www.srij.turismodeportugal.pt

Contact us

APAJO

Portuguese Association of Online Betting and Gambling
Avenida da República, 3000
Edifício Estoril Office - Office 34
2649-517 Alcabideche
Portugal

APAJO — Associação Portuguesa de Apostas e Jogos Online

Avenida da República, 3000, Edifício Estoril Office, Escritório 34
2649-517 Alcabideche