William Hill has confirmed its plans to enter the Italian online market.

The company, which reported strong growth for the first quarter of 2011, intends to compete with its domestic and international rivals for a slice of the estimated €6bn Italian online betting and gaming market.

One of the first platforms to be awarded an AAMS online gaming licence, William Hill’s new Italian site, which took over a year to develop, will be launched later this month. Initially, its casino site will be launched, followed by bingo, sportsbook and poker.

Henry Birch, William Hill Online CEO, commented: “The combination of a high passion for sports and gaming makes Italy one of the most important markets in our international expansion plans.”