Italian iCasino Market Hits Record €60.6m in March
April 17, 2018 9:45 amWith France and Spain already sharing their poker liquidity pools, and Portugal expected to soon follow suit, all eyes are now upon Italy to finally approve iPoker licenses for its cross-border online poker market.
While Italian politicians debate their next move, the country recently released its online gambling figures for March, and the results were impressive to ay the least, with iCasinos setting a new monthly revenue record of €60.6 million, up by 27% versus to the same month in 2017.
Europe’s Biggest iGaming Market
Italy is Europe’s largest online gambling market, and last year the country of 60 million people generated €20 billion in revenue, compared to €16 billion for a second placed UK. Unlike the UK, however, the Italian online gambling market is fragmented and relatively underdeveloped, making it a particular attractive investment for gambling companies looking to position themselves within one of Europe’s fastest growing markets.
iCasino Results
Last month, Italy’s online gambling results added further to its impressive standing, with online casinos revenue hitting a record of €60.6 million, up by almost a third year-on-year, and beating the previous record set in January of €59.7 million. Topping the vertical was PokerStars with a 9.3% share of the market, relegating Lottomatica (8.8%) to a second place, followed by Sisal (8.3%), Eurobet (6.2%) and 888 Holdings (5.5%).
In terms of online poker, PokerStars also headed the field with €8m in tournament fees, up by 7.4% year-on-year, and cash games rising by a slight 1.5% to €6.3m. As a result, PokerStars now commands a 62.4% of the tournament market, and a 40.3% share of online cash games, having dipped below the 40% mark for the first time last month.
On the virtual sports front, gambling firms generated €22.8m in March, €21.1m of which was derived from machines located in retail outlets, with Goldbet (27.8%) leading the way, followed by Snaitech (18.2%) and Eurobet (14%). Online bingo also contributed a further €2.8m towards overall revenues, with the market headed by Tombola International (44.5%), Bwin (12%), Sisal (10%) and Lottomatica (9.5%)
Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting, too, posted impressive gains with revenue soaring by 82.4% to €51.3 million versus March 2017. Bet365 subsequently led the segment in terms of both revenue (16.3%) and turnover (29.1%), followed by Planetwin365, Eurobet, Snaitech and Sisal.
In the meantime, Italian Senator Franco Mirabelli, who previously voiced opposition to a shared European iPoker network over money laudering concerns, has now said that he intends to reorganize the gaming sector in order to limit the potential negative impacts associated with the industry. This includes forbidding advertising games within sports broadcasts, with the Democratic Party Senator explaining that “there is an excess in the use of sports networks to promote online gambling and gaming. It is therefore necessary to intervene.”
Playtech Eyeing Expansion
In related news, UK firm Playtech looks set to expand its presence in Italy by acquiring Milan-based gaming company Snaitech for a massive €846 million ($1.05bn). Snaitech is one of the country’s biggest gambling operators, with its portfolio including an online business, a sports broadcasting unit, three race tracks, and ten betting shops, with a further 1,600 franchises under its SNAI brand. The company also has 850 employees and in 2017 reported €890 million ($1.09bn) in revenue, and €41.6 million ($51m) in pretax profits.
Further benefits to Playtech include creating a “vertically integrated B2B2C operator” and expanding its consumer offering, whilst delivering considerable value to its shareholders. Commenting upon the deal, Playtech CEO Mor Weisner stated:
“The acquisition of Snaitech represents the continuation of our strategy to invest in leading retail brands in fast growing, regulated markets. The acquisition delivers the Board’s strategic objective to improve the quality and diversification of Group revenue, whilst delivering exposure to high growth end markets, by utilising the strength of Playtech’s balance sheet.”