Italy’s online gambling results show improvement after post-World Cup slump

Italy’s regulated sports betting market has shown signs of improvement after the mild dip it suffered after the heightened betting activity during the football World Cup.

As per the figures published by Italian gaming affiliate Agimeg, combined retail and online sports betting revenue in August touched €111.4m, a rise of 34.4 per cent over the same month last year and down only slightly from the €114.3m recorded in July.

Online wagering accounted for just under €50m in July, up 27.8 per cent year-on-year, with Bet365 claiming a 17.1 per cent share, followed by runner-up SKS365 (14.9 per cent) and Playtech’s new Italian toy Snaitech (10.5 per cent). For the year-to-date, online betting revenue is up 41.5 per cent to €411.4m.

The retail betting throne was claimed by the new Gamenet/Goldbet combo, which claimed 18.7 per cent share. Snaitech was not far back with 16.5 per cent and GVC Holdings’ Eurobet brand ranked third with 14.7 per cent.

Virtual betting generated revenue of €20.5m in August, €19m of which came via retail outlets. For the year-to-date, virtual betting revenue totals €170m, of which €157.5m was retail-derived. Gamenet/Goldbet also led this vertical with an even more dominant 27.5 per cent share.

August’s online casino revenue shot up 26 per cent year-on-year to €56.5m, with The Stars Group’s PokerStars’ brand claiming top honours with a 9.7 per cent share. Lottomatica ranked second with 8.9 per cent and Sisal claimed third with €8.4 per cent. For the year-to-date, online casino revenue is up over €100m year-on-year to €458.8m.

Online poker played contrarian in August, as cash games revenue fell 6.9 per cent to €4.8m while tournament fees were down 5.9 per cent to €5.6m. PokerStars claimed a 42.1 per cent share of cash games revenue and a 64.8 per cent slice of the tournament take.

For the year-to-date, cash games revenue has fallen nearly €2m to €44.1m, while tournaments are essentially flat at around €55m.

All eyes will be on Italy’s market in the coming months to gauge the impact the country’s new ban on gambling advertising and sponsorships.

Source: calvinayre.com