Best live dealer casinos for players from Portugal 

Background

As an member of the European Union, ("EU member"), any discussion of the online gambling legal and regulatory environment in Portugal necessitates consideration of overarching EU law.  A central tenet of EU law, (as set out in the EU treaty) is the freedom to provide services, which dictates that EU members can't enact laws prohibiting a service (including online gambling) provided by another EU Member based operator when locally based monopoly operations are permitted.  Where EU Member laws are in breach of EU law, the European Commission may commence infringement proceedings including referral of the matter to the European Court of Justice.

A number of EU Members have recently tried to put in place prohibitory online gambling laws and attracted the ire of the EC (France, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands to name a few).  Portugal is another that is currently attempting to enforce a protectionist ban on foreign operators while sanctioning the operations of local monopoly betting organization Santa Casa.  Last year a Portuguese court held that foreign operator Bwin (Gibraltar licensed) was unable to sponsor Liga Portugesa de Futebol Profissional and was fined accordingly.  The ruling has been referred to the ECJ for consideration as to whether the laws and related ruing constitute a breach of EU law.  At the time of writing a determination was still pending.

Further details of Portuguese gaming regulations may be found at the website of the Inspectorate General of Gaming.

[Update September 2009]

On 8 September 2009 the ECJ ruled in favor of the Portuguese government, saying that protection of a State run monopoly through restrictive laws is legal where such protection is in the public interest.  It is a decision that may well have far reaching implications for the development of the an open online gambling market in Europe.  Portugal certainly, for the time being at least has no motivation to allow online gambling operators other than Santa Casa to advertise their services throughout Portugal.

Best live casino for Portuguese players

The below casinos with live dealers offer EURO banking as well as Portuguese language support.

Casinos	Player access	Banking	Toll free support	Local language	Games
Read review  I  Visit	No restrictions on Portuguese player sign-ups	No deposit restrictions. Can maintain account in EURO	Yes	Full Portuguese language website and support capability	Asian based dealer studio including blackjack, baccarat, roulette and baccarat variations.
Read review  I  Visit	No restrictions on sign -ups from Portugal	No deposit restrictions. Can maintain account in EURO	No	Full Portuguese language website and support capability	European based dealer room with Euro centric games.

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