Portugal's Gambling Regulator Turns To French Firm's Tech To Hunt Illegal Sites
Portugal's gambling regulator has contracted French company Sharp Vision to automate the detection of illegal online gambling sites, moving a job its staff have largely done by hand onto a dedicated monitoring platform.
The Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), part of Turismo de Portugal, signed a one-year, €19,990 contract for a platform named DORIA, according to the filing on Base, Portugal's public procurement portal. Turismo de Portugal signed the deal on 27 July and it was published on 30 July; it can be extended for a second year if the agencies involved request it.
A Direct Award Just Under The Threshold
The contract was awarded directly, without a competitive tender, under article 20(1)(d) of Portugal's Public Contracts Code, which permits direct awards for goods and services purchases below €20,000.
At €19,990, the deal sits €10 under that ceiling.
The contract covers a licence to use a platform that “supports the procedures for identifying, notifying and blocking websites” offering online gambling and betting without a Portuguese licence.
What The Platform Is Meant To Do
In a statement, Sharp Vision said the platform would let the SRIJ move from “an essentially manual and reactive approach to a permanent, automated digital monitoring model supported by real-time information.”
The company said the system carries out four tasks: detecting illegal operators whose sites remain reachable from Portugal, checking with internet providers that the SRIJ's blocking orders are actually enforced, helping assemble evidence for administrative penalty proceedings, and producing market indicators, including the rate at which players are redirected to licensed operators.
Sharp Vision said the tool does not replace human judgment, and that SRIJ staff keep full authority to verify and validate any result the system flags before acting, including site-blocking orders sent to internet service providers.
Company president Cyril Casanova told the Lusa news agency that the aim was to “leave manual mode” and use technology to detect illegal sites and recommend blocking them.
He described Portugal as a pioneer in the approach, but was candid about its limits: “When it comes to fighting the illegal market, the ambition must be reasonable,” he said, adding that the goal is not to eliminate the illegal market entirely, since operators behind it use sophisticated technology to stay ahead of authorities.
While You Are Here, Why Not Check Out Our: Casino Games Hub & Free Slots?
The Scale of the Problem
The SRIJ already blocks illegal gambling sites in large numbers.
By its own count, it has ordered 3,043 sites blocked since 2015, including 113 in the second quarter of 2026 alone, and has notified 1,834 operators and referred 77 cases to prosecutors.
Each block still depends on someone finding the site first, the step the new platform is intended to automate.
Sharp Vision says it already operates in more than six jurisdictions, including parts of West Africa, and is expanding into other European and South American markets.
Online gambling and betting in Portugal are legal only through SRIJ-licensed operators; for players, checking the regulator's list of licensed operators remains the safest way to verify a site before depositing money.
