Italy

Flutter Entertainment Plc has this morning announced that it has completed its acquisition of Italian gambling group Sisal SPA for €1.9 bn (£1.6/$2.2bn).  On 23 December 2021, Flutter declared to markets that it had secured definitive terms with US PE fund CVC Capital Partners to acquire all assets (lottery, online and retail) of the heritage Italian gambling group. The acquisition …

An enlarged Lottomatica Group, formed by the merger of Lottomatica Scommese and GoldBet Italia, has declared a stellar H1 trading period.  Having emerged as Italy’s largest betting group, Lottomatica reported a quadrupling of group revenues from 2021 results of €178m to €800m recorded during H1 2022. The 4X growth in headline revenues was attributed to the group’s enlarged retail portfolio …

Italian gambling’s regulatory affairs have been left in limbo following last week’s resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, which signals the likely break-up of Italy’s coalition government.  Chaos followed Mario’s resignation, as President Sergio Mattarella called for Parliament to be dissolved and for a snap General Election to be brought forward to 25 September – a year ahead of schedule. …

Italy-facing betting operator GoldBet has moved to expand its payment capabilities in pursuit of further revenue growth, extending its contract with Nuvei. The renewed contract with the payment solutions provider will see GoldBet implement new transaction methods into its cashier – such as Apple Pay – as a new withdrawal and deposit option, making it one of the first Italian …

Positive regulatory developments in Italy have seen bookmakers end their licensing limbo, as Parliament has allowed concessions to be extended for a further two years until 2024.  Italian ministers agreed to override gambling regulator ADM, the Customs and Monopolies Agency’s review of licence concessions that had been botched during 2021 – which saw the franchisees of Snaitech, Lottomatica, Sisal, SKS365 …

Italy’s ADM, the Agency of Customs and Monopolies, has notified licensed operators and retail merchants that it will apply new measures to control Punto Vendita Ricarica (PVR) – retail points of sale for gambling concessions.  The government agency charged with gambling regulation and oversight stated that it wanted to apply a better monitoring of PVRs offered by Internet cafes, bars, …

888 has announced an expansion of its safer gambling provisions in Europe, launching its Control Centre in the Italian market.  Citing Italy as one of the ‘key regulated markets’, 888 detailed that the rollout of the Control Centre in the country forms part of its ‘Made to Play Safely’ ESG policy, in turn a pillar of its ‘Made for the …

Italy’s Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM) has caused uproar in the esports community by shutting down three ‘digital entertainment venues’ located in the North of Italy.  The government agency that oversees gambling policies across Italy’s 20 regional provinces shut down the ‘three gaming halls’ that were deemed to have ‘lacked any form of authorisation, licence and concession’. The venues …

To the dismay of Italian bookmakers, Valentina Vezzali, Undersecretary for Sports, has secured a debate on the introduction of a fixed 1% tax on betting turnover. The Sports Minister is reported to have held a meeting with Italy’s fiscal ministries to examine a further tax rise on betting incumbents. In attendance were representatives of Italy’s Treasury and gambling regulator ADM …

Virtual sports supplier GlobalBet has entered into an agreement with Eurobet, an Italian market subsidiary of the international Entain group. The agreement will see GlobalBet provide Eurobet with its flagship Virtual Football PRO product and ADM licensed products across both online and retail verticals – with the latter covering multiple locations throughout Italy. Developed by GlobalBet’s in-house team, the virtual …