A Portuguese gaming body has filed criminal complaints against several offshore casinos and influencers who have advertised them. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Criminal complaints

The Portuguese Online Gambling and Betting Association (APAJO) has filed criminal complaints against influencers and operators as it seeks to clamp down on illegal gambling.

APAJO made criminal complaints against influencers Bruno Savate, Cláudia Nayara, GODMOTA, Numeiro, and ritinhayoutuber over promoting unlicensed gambling sites, which are illegal in Portugal.

APAJO stated it would continue to file reports as activities were uncovered.

In addition, operators BC.Game, Betify, Monro, Stake, Starda, Vem Bet, Weiss, and Wolfi were all also reported for criminal offenses. APAJO stated it would continue to file reports as activities were uncovered.

Study released

The comments follow the release of APAJO’s annual gambling study in Portugal, which found growing problems with players gambling on unlicensed sites. According to the report, 41% of gamblers in Portugal used unregulated sites when gambling, and less than half of the players who bet on unlicensed sites are unaware that they are using an illegal operator. 

“It is, therefore, very critical that the Portuguese media are clear and accurate with the information provided about the sector, in order to prevent thousands of people from being continually exposed to the risks of betting on unlicensed sites,” said Ricardo Domingues, president of the APAJO board of directors.

young people are more likely to bet on unregulated sites compared to the general population

Additional figures published in the report showed that young people are more likely to bet on unregulated sites compared to the general population, with 52.1% of players aged between 18 and 34 choosing to do so, which has perhaps inspired the move to file criminal complaints against influencers.

Cost to revenue

Portuguese gambling law makes it a crime to operate any gambling site without a license. The law also penalizes those who promote unlicensed sites, including on social media. As a result, there is a real prosecution risk for all of the influencers named by APAJO.

the names mentioned come from a wide variety of backgrounds

This isn’t the first time that APAJO has pointed its finger at influencers, and the names mentioned come from a wide variety of backgrounds, rather than all being gambling streamers.

With the report from APAJO estimating that €100m ($108m) per year is lost to tax revenue from unlicensed betting sites and countries having limited ability to tackle operators based offshore, the legal case could quickly ramp up against the influencers.