Italy’s regulated online gambling market posted strong double-digit gains across nearly every vertical except (what else?) poker in the month of May.
Figures released by Italy’s Agenzia della Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) regulatory body show overall sports betting revenue hit €134.1m in May, up 44.2% from the same month last year, pushing the year-to-date total up 11.7% to €698.5m. Goldbet retained the overall betting market share crown with 15.3%, just ahead of runner-up Snaitech at 14.9%.
While the overall revenue figure was significantly less than April’s €173.6m, growth was strong in both retail and online betting segments, although land-based wagering growth outpaced online for a change. Retail betting revenue grew 49.5% to €77.9m, while online improved 37.7% to €56.2m.
Goldbet also claimed the retail betting crown with a 20.2% share, followed by Snaitech (16.9%) and GVC Holdings’ Eurobet brand (14.6%). Bet365 led the online chart with a 13.56% share, narrowly ahead of its Italian archrival SKS365/Planetwin365 (13.35%) while Snai wasn’t far off the mark at 12.1%.
The online casino vertical was also in hyper-growth mode, improving 22% year-on-year to just under €70m. The Stars Group’s PokerStars brand retained its casino crown with a 10.5% share, followed by Lottomatica (8%), Sisal (7.7%), Snaitech (6.5%) and 888 Holdings (6.3%).
The online poker vertical continues to struggle, posting declines in both tournaments (€6.3m, -2.9%) and cash games (€5m, -8.3%). PokerStars held a 59% share of tournament revenue and a 42.4% share of cash games. As usual, no other operator scored a double-digit share in either category.
The country’s virtual betting operators reported revenue up 16.7% to €25.4m in May, bringing the year-to-date total to €125.7m (+17.4%). Goldbet claimed one-third of May’s virtual haul, with Snai second with 18.1% and Eurobet third with 15.5%.
The country’s land-based casino operators have generated combined revenue of €83.5m over the first five months of 2018, with €51.2m of that total coming via slots. Casino di Venezia remains the dominant land-based gaming venue, accounting for nearly half of all casino revenue in 2019.
