Rank Group has been granted a licence to launch its YoBingo brand in Portugal, following a near six-year assessment and certification process of its bingo platform.
This week, the Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), the games inspectorate of Portugal operating under Turismo de Portugal, confirmed that it has authorised BingoSoft, the Malta-based operating company of YoBingo.
The SRIJ’s approval means that YoBingo.pt will become the 17th licensed online gambling brand permitted to operate in the Portuguese market, and will be authorised to offer online bingo alongside a certified selection of slot and casino games.
Of note, the approval will enable Rank Group to introduce Portugal’s first dedicated online bingo platform under the rules of the Regime Jurídico dos Jogos e Apostas Online (RJO 2015).
While Portugal’s regulated market has expanded steadily since the introduction of the remote gambling regime in 2015, the majority of licences have been concentrated on sports betting and online casino products.
As such, YoBingo represents the first attempt to establish a standalone bingo vertical within the country’s regulated online gambling ecosystem.
The six-year authorisation process reflects the extensive certification procedures applied by SRIJ, covering platform integrity, technical compliance, player protection measures and responsible gambling controls as outlined within Portugal’s online gambling framework.
The platform will offer low-stake bingo cards starting from €0.10 and progressive jackpots that can exceed €100,000. Its interface allows users to participate in live bingo sessions alongside a catalogue of slot and casino titles.
Rank had first communicated its intention to introduce YoBingo to Portugal in the summer of 2019, following the LSE-listed gambling group’s €21m acquisition of QSB Gaming España, the proprietary platform behind the Spanish gaming brands YoBingo, YoCasino and YoJuego.
However, as detailed in its H1 2025/26 interim results, Rank Group confirmed that it had been permitted to soft launch YoBingo.pt in November 2025, following regulatory clearance from SRIJ.
Responding to SBC on the timeline of the Portuguese launch, Rank stated that the process had taken nearly six years, attributing the delay to the SRIJ approval processes, which require extensive technical certification and compliance testing before new gaming platforms can be authorised.
Rank is optimistic that by being the first brand to offer online bingo in Portugal, it can build on YoBingo’s success within the Spanish market, where the brand established itself as the market-dominant online bingo room.
