Online Poker in Italy Grows 30 Percent in January

Online poker in Italy is booming since regulation and licensing was introduced in the second half of 2008 with industry revenue up 30 percent or more month-on-month in January 2009 to €130 million.

Legal play-for-money poker, with games spread from 50c to €100, was launched in September 2008 when €18 million was generated. Over 4 million tournaments have been played since October 2008 according to a report from Agicoscommesse.

Total revenue generated in 2008 was €242.2 million.

Among the companies operating in the sector are Snai, Sisal, Eurobet, Cogetech, Playtech and PokerStars.

Richard Creed, CEO of Leisure & Gaming plc which operates Betshopitalia, confirmed the bullish figures saying, “In the 6 weeks to 31 December 2008, 4,886 unique customers played in our tournaments. 20 percent of the new poker customers have also wagered on sports events. Whilst this is a relatively short time to evaluate our poker offering in Italy and to assess the likely future participation of our customers, these results have been significantly above management’s expectations.”

Playtech, which owns and operates the iPoker network, also recently published very positive reports on its experience in the Italian market.

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