The volume of business generated each year in Italy by the betting and public game sector is equivalent to 3.5 per cent of the GDP, according to InterGame sources.
In 2009 the overall takings reached EURO54.4bn with an increase of 14.4 per cent on 2008 figures. This positive trend is continuing in 2010 and in January takings were EURO5.224bn - a rise of 15 per cent compared to January 2009.
Coin-op amusement machines are thought to have accounted for approximately 45 per cent of the total amount of bets thanks to progressive growth in the sector over the past several years. There are almost 350,000 machines in approximately 100,000 public and commercial venues, amusement arcades and shops.
Sports betting experienced limited growth in 2009 - increasing just 2.1 per cent compared to 2008 when it rose 50 per cent on previous years to EURO3.908bn. 2009 brought in EURO3.989bn.
Online betting performed considerably better, however, with takings of EURO1.207bn - a 12.9 per cent increase compared to the EURO1.069bn taken in 2008 and bets via the internet accounted for 30.3 per cent of total takings.
2009 was another negative year for horse race betting - a market with takings of EURO1,981bn compared to EURO2,272bn in 2008 - a drop of 13 per cent and the same decrease was reported in the tax revenue, which was EURO97m.
