UPDATE: Stars’ corporate spokesman Rick Dacey has informed CalvinAyre.com that the figures cited in this article were “based on a reporting error on PokerStars’ part which resulted in incomplete information being provided to [Italian regulator] AAMS.” Dacey provided what he maintains are the true revenue and market share figures:
PokerStars Tournaments – AAMS: €2.37m (57.33%). Revised: €5.27m (74.95%)
PokerStars Cash Games – AAMS: €1.3m (28.65%). Revised: €2.88m (46.95%)
PokerStars Casino – AAMS: €1.37m (3.44%). Revised: €3m (7.25%)
The original article appears below.
Italy’s online betting market posted strong gains in November but Bet365’s slice of that pie grew thinner and PokerStars lost a little of its Italian swagger.
Figures released by Italian gaming news agency Agimeg.it show total sports betting turnover topping €750m in November, 28% higher than in the same month last year. Italian-licensed online sports betting sites were responsible for around €385m of this total.
Perennnial market leader Bet365 continued to top the ranks with €129m, although this was down from €137m in October. Gala Coral’s Eurobet brand ranked second with €35.8m, down about €2m, while Sisal enjoyed a slight gain to just under €30m. Local boys Snai and Lottomatica rounded out the top-five with €27.5m and €22.3m, respectively.
Lottomatica ranked tops in the online casino revenue charts, netting 10.9% of the overall €40m. Sisal ranked second with 8.5%, followed by Eurobet (7.2%), Bwin (6.3%) and Snai (6.2%). The casino offering of Amaya Gaming’s PokerStars brand had a bad month, falling from 6.4% in October to just 3.4%, while Betsson’s StarCasino brand made the top-10 for the first time with a 2.8% share.
PokerStars also saw a sharp decline in its share of the poker cash games market, falling from 43.2% in October to just 28.7%. While still well clear of its nearest competitors Lottomatica (9.7%) and the People’s Network (8.8%), PokerStars’ cash game share had ranked as high as 47.3% in September.
Stars’ share of tournament revenue was also down to 57.3% from 68.5% in October and from 74.2% in September. The Italian market was down in general, with cash game stakes falling from €5.8m in October to €4.5m, while tournament entry fees fell from €5.5m to €4m. For the year to date, cash games are down 15% while tournaments slipped a more modest 4%.
The Italian government’s gambling tax take (both direct and indirect) is expected to rise a hefty 22% to a record €12b by the time 2016 is in the books. The gains are largely attributable to new taxes on slots and video lottery terminals, which are expected to account for 60% of the government’s gambling tax haul.
