Italian Virtual Betting Markets and Online Casinos See 20% Increase in March

According to new figures collected by the regulatory body Agenzia della Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), online casino revenue moved up by 20% in March, whilst year on year, overall revenues from gambling activities fell by 4.2%.

The total land-based and online casino sports betting revenue for March was €106.4 million, suffering a 4.2% decline year-on-year. In the first quarter of 2019, the overall betting revenue is up by a moderate 1.4%, reaching €391 million. March’s decline can also be attributed to land-based casinos where retail revenues fell by 9%. However, online betting revenue increased to €52 million with a 1.2% increase. Throughout the year, the first quarter online revenues rose by 10% to €179.1 million, but retail revenue went down by 5% to €211.8 million.

Bet365, the British betting giant grabbed 15.9% share of the market in March, outshining Rome based SKS365 and its flagship brand Planetwin365 which grabbed a 13% share. The next three biggest players were Snaitech with 11.6% share, Eurobet by GVC Holdings with 9.85% share and Sisal with 9.8% share. The Goldbet group emerged as the leader in overall wagering, grabbing 14.8% share of the market.

The online casino market is flourishing in the country. March experienced a 19.8% increase in revenue year-on-year to €72.6 million. The total revenue for the first quarter went up to €206 million. PokerStars from the Stars Group took away an 11.1% share of the total revenue. Sisal with 8%, Lottomatica with 7.5%, 888 Holdings with 6.7% and Eurobet with 6.5% trailed behind.

The virtual betting sector also experienced double-digit growth last month. It set a new market record by bringing in €27.3 million, marking a 19.7% rise over January’s €25.8 million. Goldbet took away the lion’s share of the market at 29%. Snaitech managed 17.8% while Eurobet grabbed 15.4%.

Online poker couldn’t keep up with expectations, and tournament revenue declined by 9.3% to just €7.2 million. PokerStars managed to get 61.4% of the tournament revenue.

New tax figures by the Ministry of Finance suggest that Italians spent an average of 1.86% of their income on gambling products. Residents of the Campania region spent 3.3% of their income on gambling- the highest in the country. On the other hand, the Trentino Alto Adige region had the lowest average spent at 1.1%. Interestingly, average Italians spend 1.1% of their income on slots and video lotteries and only 0.1% on sports betting.