Fast-fold poker approved in Italy
AAMS allows for player pools of up to 5,000 for the format " operators will be required to apply for specific approval.
Italian regulator AAMS has announced that licensees in the regulated European jurisdiction will be able to offer fast-fold poker games.
Operators will be forced to apply for specific approval for the variant, even if they already offer online poker, while other elements of regulation such as the maximum loss limit of 1,000 will also be applied to fast-fold tables.
A statement from Francesco Rodano, head of remote gaming at AAMS, also revealed that player pools for fast-paced poker will not exceed 5,000 while sessions will last no longer than 72 hours for any player.
Rodano told eGaming Review that, while no operators have applied to offer fast poker in Italy so far, there has been some interest from “two or three” licensees.
A number of Italian licensees already offer the format to players on their dot.com sites, with PokerStars taking its proprietary Zoom offering out of beta in May and Unibet going live with Relax Gaming’s ‘Fast Poker’ product one month earlier.
Poker is already one of the best performing verticals in Italy, contributing to AAMS’ strongest monthly figures to date last month.
The regulatory body is due to merge with the country’s customs authority later this year, a move which is believed to have impacted on the resignation of AAMS director general Raffaele Ferrara in early June.
Last week saw the appointment of Luigi Magistro as deputy director general for the newly-formed Customs and Monopolies Agency, holding responsibility for gambling legislation in the jurisdiction.
Italy is set to open the licensing process for online slots before the end of the year, while the introduction of exchange betting is also drawing nearer following the European Commission’s approval of the country’s exchange decree in May this year.