Italy’s online sportsbooks enjoyed September far more than their land-based counterparts, while broadcasters are suffering from the country’s gambling ban.
Data released by the Italian regulator Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) show that the country’s sports betting revenues in September amounted to EUR 128.6 million, a decrease of almost 8% compared to the same month last year. In the year to date, the weather revenues rose by 1.8% to € 1.12 billion.
September’s decline was entirely attributable to land based betting, which declined 14.6% over the year to € 67.6 million, while online betting increased 1% to € 61 million. The UK online betting giant Bet365, whose Italian-licensed site was blacklisted in neighboring Switzerland, maintained the crown of online betting market share at 16.3%, with the SKS365 Planetwin365 brand at 13.6% and the Snaitech brand of Playtech in third place. with 12%.
Italy’s online casino operators suffered no slump in September with sales up 22.4% to € 71.8 million. The PokerStars brand of the Stars Group claimed nearly 10% of this headline, with sisal (9%) and lottomatica (8.1%) hot on their heels.
PokerStars also claimed the lion’s share of both poker tournaments and cash games, each of which was on a negative course in September. Tournament revenues fell by 2.1% to € 5.9 million, while cash games fell by 3.7% to € 4.7 million.
Gambling Advertising And Sponsorship Decline
Meanwhile, Italy’s ban on almost all gambling advertising and sponsorship is blamed for an expected decline in 2019 TV ad revenue. The country’s Telecommunications Association recently predicted that Internet advertising would grow by 7.8% this year, with smaller increases expected for the cinema (+ 5.6%). and radio (+ 2.2%) ads. However, TV ad revenues are expected to close at 3.4% year-on-year in 2019, with the so-called Dignity Decree prohibiting gambling promotion as the architect of the decline of television.
The number of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) submitted by Italy’s gambling operators is definitely not decreasing. Local gambling licensees reported 3,102 STR to the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit in the first half of 2019, a two-thirds increase over the first half of 2018, while the financial sum of these transactions was even higher (+ 193%).
The country’s ongoing crackdown on mafia games – especially those with video lottery terminals – has been recognized for its new commitment to communicating potentially dubious business.