The value of Italy’s igaming market increased by more than a third last year, to €1.38bn, thanks to players returning to the legal circuit.
Regulated online games with cash prizes in 2017 increased 34 per cent on the equivalent figure from 12 months earlier, with online games now making up seven per cent of the whole gaming sector in Italy, both online and offline.
Statistics also showed a growth in online casino games, up by 29 per cent during 2017 and worth €569m, while online sports betting increased by 59 per cent and was valued at €56m.
There was also a small growth in online poker and in 2017, the number of Italians making at least one online bet was 2.2m – up by 22 per cent on 2016.
Men dominate the market, making up 82 per cent of players, while 70 per cent of players live in the south-centre of the country.
Mobile games are also proving increasingly popular in Italy, with expenditure on tablets and smartphones exceeding €350m, up by over 50 per cent.
At the same time, player protection measures have been beefed up: this year, a single register of self-exclusions is underway by Agenzia dogane e monopoli (or AdM, the Italian gaming regulator), an initiative that will allow players requiring self-exclusion to be automatically excluded from all gaming websites.
The principles on which Italy and the AdM have built a social sustainability framework are threefold: a fight against unlicensed websites; protection from fraud; and the protection of minors.
Source: Gioco News
