Paddy Power Betfair has announced its intention to withdraw its Paddy Power brand from the Italian market.
Moving forward the Paddy Power Betfair group’s sole presence in the Italian market will be through the Italia branch of Betfair.
Plentwin365 recently overtook Bet365 to become the Italian online sports betting market leader, after it benefited from a commercial boost after its newly formed partnership with Serie A side, Napoli.
The news of Paddy Power’s departure comes amidst much speculation that the Italian government plans on increasing tax on both land based and online betting operators in the country.
According to reports in Italy, taxes paid by land-based betting operators will be raised one point, from 18% to 19%, whereas the current online tax rate of of 22% which regularly sees operators report profits could be increased from its current rate of 22% to 23%.
The decision, which was reportedly made after the 2016 merger between Paddy Power and Betfair means that the group will close its PaddyPower.it site in December and Italian bettors will cease to have access to PaddyPower.com.
Recent financial results indicate that the integration between Paddy Power Betfair is going smoothly, with its H1 2017 delivering a 9% increase on pro-forma revenues of £827 million and leaving Paddy Power Betfair ‘well positioned for sustainable and profitable growth’.