Italy’s online sports betting turnover surges 44.5% in March

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italy-bet365-online-sports-bettingItaly’s online sports betting market continued to shine in March, with betting turnover rising 44.5% year-on-year.

Figures compiled by Italian gaming news outlet Agimeg.it show Italian-licensed online sportsbooks handled €478.4m in March, 44.5% higher that the name month last year. As ever, Bet365’s Italian site dominated the market by capturing 33% of the online wagering.

Ladbrokes Coral’s Eurobet brand was the online sports runner-up with handle of €46m, followed by Sisal (€34.2m), Snaitech (€33.9m) and William Hill (€26.5m). It’s worth noting that even if you add in land-based wagering, Bet365’s total still easily eclipsed Snaitech (€101.3m) and Eurobet (€100.5m).

The online casino vertical generated revenue of €36.6m, 30.3% higher than the same month last year. As ever, Lottomatica scored the biggest slice of this market at 10.7%, followed by Sisal (8.7%), Amaya Gaming’s PokerStars (7.8%), Eurobet (6.6%) and William Hill (5.8%). Nordic operator Betsson’s local brand StarCasino remains a relative bit player at 2.6% but this is nearly 77% higher than the site earned in the same month last year.

Online poker’s mixed fortunes proceeded apace in March, with tournament fees rising 16.1% to €7.4m, of which 67.5% was spent with PokerStars. Over the first quarter of 2015, tournament fees are up 18.6% to €23.6m, with PokerStars averaging a 69.4% share.

On the flip side, online poker cash game stakes were down 4% to €6m in March, with PokerStars claiming a 46.2% share. People’s Poker, which includes all Microgame network sites, ranked second with 24%, while third-place finisher Lottomatica was well back at 7.3%. For Q1 2017, cash games are down 5.8% to €19.5m.

Virtual betting enjoyed serious growth in March, with turnover rising 45% to €135m, of which Goldbet claimed just under €44m, easily outpacing runner-up Snaitech at €25m. Exchange betting remains a relative afterthought in Italy, generating handle of only €478k, although this was up over 59% from the same month last year.

Online bingo revenue totaled just under €2.5m in March, with Raffles International claiming the largest slice of the pie at 38%, followed by Bwin at 13.6%.

Italy’s four land-based casinos generated revenue of €71.7m in Q1, 63.6% of which came via slots play. Casino attendance topped 520k over the first three months of the year.