Corporate and business advisory company Ficom Leisure has released an update on the current and future online gaming market opportunities in Italy.
The report covers the impact of the recently passed Decree, which legalised online poker cash and casino games.
The Italian State Monopolies Administration (AAMS) published its long-awaited Game License Decree on March 9, which set forth general terms and conditions for licensing, as well as administrative and technical requirements of operators’ systems and infrastructures. The Decree replaced previous legislation and set forth new rules for remote skill games with cash prizes; introduced and regulated fixed-odds remote games of chance with cash prizes (casino games), excluding lotteries and ancillary games, and introduced and regulated remote cash-based card games, in non-tournament form (mainly poker cash).
This means that the offering of nationally regulated online betting and gaming products in Italy will now include, in addition to sports betting, poker tournaments and other skill games and bingo, also poker cash and casino games (excluding slots). Such an expansion of the betting and gaming offering is expected to heavily increase the size of the industry and Fitcom Leisure believes that the launch of online cash poker and casino games in Italy could double the turnover for the country’s online betting and gaming market in 2011.
The License Decree has made up to 200 new gaming licences available, each for a nine-year term covering all regulated games. Fitcom Leisure also sees an opportunity for consolidation that creates opportunities to acquire fully licensed online betting and gaming operators to enter and grow in the Italian market immediately.
Over the last few years Italy has progressively regulated its online betting and gaming sector, allowing for the development of a competitive and profitable offering, both for operators and players. As a consequence Italy, with a market value of €4.826m for 2010 (a 28 per cent increase compared to 2009), has become one of Europe’s most exciting and talked about regulated online betting and gaming market.
