PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Miguel Santos Almeida, Maria Novo Baptista and João Saúde, Sérvulo & Associados
tee and the Portuguese Football Federation, among others, and handing co-ordination over to the Anti- Corruption Unit of the Judiciary Police. 1.3 Betting-Related Offences Betting on sports is not a prohibited practice and is subject to regulation in Portugal. Decree-Law No 422/89 of December 2nd, which establishes the legal framework for gaming in Portugal, is applicable, as are the Online Gambling and Betting Act, Decree-Law No 67/2015 of April 29th (approving the legal frame - work for land-based fixed-odds sports betting) and Decree-Law No 68/2015 of April 29th (approving the legal framework for land-based horse race betting). Santa Casa da Misericórdia, a lottery-funded com - pany that operates under the oversight of the Ministry of Social Affairs, has the exclusive right of exploitation and operation in relation to betting on sports events on a territorial basis. The right to exploit online gambling and betting on sports events is reserved for the State; however, under certain conditions, it can be the subject of a licensing agreement with the government. Sports governing bodies share information with sports betting operators and criminal investigation authori - ties. The disciplinary regulations of some sports also contain details of betting-related offences for relevant individuals. 1.4 Disciplinary Framework In Portugal, disciplinary proceedings against athletes for doping, integrity or betting offences are conducted by the relevant sports governing body in accordance with national federation rules, the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth (IPDJ), and applicable interna - tional standards such as the World Anti-Doping Code. The process typically involves: • detection and notification of the alleged offence; • a formal investigation including evidence collec - tion; • issuance of a statement of allegations; and • a hearing where the athlete can respond. Following adjudication, sanctions may include:
• suspension; • fines; • disqualification of results; or • remedial measures.
Athletes may appeal internally within the federation or externally to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Notable examples include doping suspensions under Anti-Doping Portugal rules and match-fixing or bet - ting-related penalties in Portuguese professional foot - ball, often resulting in fines or point deductions.
2. Commercial Rights 2.1 Sports-Related Rights
As with other countries that are members of the Euro - pean Union (EU) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Portuguese jurisdiction allows for exploi - tation of patents, trade marks, merchandising, copy - rights, broadcasting rights, sponsorship, image, hos - pitality and ticketing rights. Pursuant to Decree-Law No 28/84 of January 20th, tickets for an event cannot be resold at a higher price than the price fixed by the event promoter or organ - iser. As such, grey market sales may be deemed a criminal offence subject to a penalty of imprisonment for up to three years. In addition, some organisers may contractually impose on purchasers a general prohibi - tion from reselling tickets on the grey market. A rights-owner may license or sell its rights through a written contract, in which it is mandatory to identify the parties and the scope of the agreement, including a list of the rights licensed or sold, as well as the price. In the case of a licence agreement, the agreement must state whether the licence is exclusive or not. 2.2 Sponsorship Terms In Portugal, sponsors use sport to enhance brand visi - bility and engage audiences through stadium signage, naming rights, digital content, broadcast integration, social media campaigns and experiential marketing. Sponsors may also access aggregated or anonymised fan and ticketing data, subject to General Data Protec - tion Regulation (GDPR) compliance.
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