Italy’s online sports betting market enjoyed a surge in February but punter-friendly results kept revenue flat.
Online sports betting stakes in the month of February rose 90% to €227.1m, reflecting the expansion of betting options introduced last year by Italian regulator AAMS and last fall’s launch of Bet365’s Italian-facing site. However, Italian-licensed online sportsbook revenue was flat at €20.2m as a host of football favorites lived up to their reputations.
Hopes are high that the turnover trends will continue due to AAMS proposals to further loosen restrictions on betting options. A plan to swap the turnover-based tax for one based on gross gaming revenue is also expected to help Italian-licensed operators offer the kinds of incentives currently only available via operators licensed outside Italy.
VIRTUAL BETTING HAS “VERY SIGNIFICANT” IMPACT ON SNAI RESULTS
Italian gaming operator SNAI’s 2014 results don’t yet indicate any benefit from the sports betting changes. SNAI’s sports betting turnover fell 10% last year to €990m and payout to punters rose slightly. SNAI’s online operations accounted for 14% of its total sports betting stakes.
Better performances from SNAI’s other verticals helped push overall revenue up 10% to €527.5m. An increase in the number of installed video lottery terminals helped gaming machine revenue rise 11% to €278.5m despite turnover remaining flat year-on-year. Virtual sports betting had a “very significant” impact on SNAI’s bottom line, generating revenue of €44.2m on turnover of €342m.
EUOBET ADDS VIRTUAL BETTING COURTESY OF VERMANTIA
Gala Coral subsidiary Eurobet Italia is looking to get in on this virtual betting bonanza by inking a deal with Greek game developer Vermantia. The deal will allow Eurobet to roll out Vermantia’s Virtual Games Service across Eurobet’s online and mobile channels plus its retail network of over 850 shops. Football and racing options will be first out the gate, with other sports to follow.
Euroobet sportsbook director Carlo di Maio celebrated the ability to expand his company’s presence in “one of the most profitable gaming verticals currently in the Italian market.” Vermanita chief commercial officer Thanos Panousis celebrated the partnership as a “significant milestone that further reinforces our position” in the Italian virtual gaming market. The Eurobet deal is the seventh such pact Vermantia has inked in Italy.
