APAJO urges Portugal to reform online gambling rules and add regulated live casino

The Portuguese Association of Online Betting and Gaming (APAJO) has sent a package of legislative proposals to Portugal's Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ) and the Government, asking for changes to the online gambling framework. For PSPs, acquirers and banking partners active in high-risk verticals, the interesting part is not the politics — it is that Portugal is considering a broader licensed product set, tighter enforcement against offshore operators and revised operating conditions.

1. APAJO says its submission is built around four areas: combating illegal operators, reviewing and expanding the products that can be offered legally, improving licensing and operating conditions, and reinforcing responsible gambling measures. In other words, the association is pushing for both more enforcement and a wider legal menu.
2. The strongest enforcement ask is cooperation with digital intermediaries. APAJO has pointed to telecom operators and search engines as potential partners in identifying and disrupting illegal gambling activity, arguing that licensed operators are at a competitive disadvantage when consumers can access unauthorized platforms outside the Portuguese regulatory framework.
3. On the product side, APAJO wants regulated live casino introduced in Portugal. Live casino combines online betting interfaces with live dealer games and is already a standard feature in several regulated markets; APAJO is asking for it to be brought into Portugal's licensed framework, alongside a broader range of betting options for licensed operators.
4. The association says the goal is to make the regulated market more attractive and competitive while limiting access to services that do not operate under Portugal's licensing requirements. That matters for payment flows because product breadth and enforcement posture tend to shape where consumer traffic goes, and therefore which merchants PSPs get to underwrite.
5. APAJO's proposals do not change the law on their own. They now sit with the authorities, and the timing matters because the Government has already indicated that it intends to introduce new legislation affecting online gambling in Portugal.

The point for high-risk providers is straightforward: if Portugal widens the legal product set and tightens pressure on unlicensed operators, the shape of merchant demand can change quickly. Until the legislature acts, though, this remains an industry submission, not a rule change.