Of all the nations in Europe’s huge online gambling scene – which comprises almost half of the global online gambling market – Italy’s share of that market is only dwarfed by one other country, the UK. (France and Spain hold the 3rd and 4th largest spots.) According to a study by one Milanese university, the total revenue for Italy’s 2016 online gambling market was over €1 billion, up 25% on 2015. The average Italian gambler holds multiple accounts, and female players are growing in numbers as well as male. The government is offering new licenses, and plans are afoot to share poker player liquidity across the border.
International operators have even been regarded as balancing poor performance in the UK with stronger showings in Italy. Ladbrokes Coral, who reported a 1% drop in revenue in the UK last November, nevertheless showed a 17% growth in revenue across Europe, thanks principally to their Italian operations.
Unsurprisingly, plenty of outfits are looking to expand their offerings in Italy, where the opportunities are still perceived as abundant, despite some recent regional legislation to set limits on gambling locations. SportPesa has signed an agreement with Microgame, the gaming solutions company, to support it in its Italian expansion. They plan to offer an online sportsbook and casino, as well as poker and other virtual games. This new partnership was announced at the end of November.
However, the online gambling growth in Italy has not been without its controversies. Italian football has seen a recent spat over the Series A league and its partnership with Russian gambling firm 1XBet. A court recently ruled the sponsorship deal illegal, due to the fact that 1XBet does not pay taxes within Italy. This is not the first controversy to afflict football sponsorships in Italy and it most likely will not be the last.
In even more serious developments concerning gambling impropriety, two directors of the major gambling firm MediaLive were arrested in Malta in November. These arrests were part of a long investigation by Italian authorities into a multimillion Euro gambling operation. The suspicion is that at least 20 gaming parlours across six regions in Italy have been used for gambling activities which were not recorded for due legal process. The operation is also being investigated for money laundering, and it is believed that the turnover on these games may have amounted to €10 million monthly. The Italian authorities are still as yet unable to seize or freeze the company assets due to the servers being based out of Malta, but they plan to seek assistance in this matter from Maltese authorities, who have so far stated that they are following the case closely.
This is not the first case to nip at the heels of the Maltese gambling authorities, who are often in the spotlight for such matters due to their liberal approach to gambling registration and licensing. As ever, the government there maintains its position that their governance of these matters is consistent and in accord with all relevant EU legislation.
It is amusing to note that in relation to these scandals, a recent Pew Institute poll of European residents’ attitudes to national stereotyping revealed an interesting result with regard to Italian respondents’ attitudes of self-identity. The poll, which asked respondents to identify and rank the nations of the continent in categories such as “most hardworking” and “most compassionate,” found that Italians were the only country to list themselves as the least trustworthy. Still, we must avoid such stereotypes, and the odd scandal aside, Italy has shown, and is expected to continue to show, a very strong performance in the online gambling sphere.
