There once was a time when online gaming in Italy was but a distant pipe dream, but after the government realised what a cash cow the industry was it saw fit to give carte blanche, or rather carta bianca, to everything from bingo to sports betting, lottery games to poker. Now Microgaming has got in on the act and launched a new Italian poker network, with Ladbrokes as its first customer – and you can bet there will plenty more operators forming queueing up for the action like guests at one of Silvio Berlusconi’s “summer barbeques”. Read more.