Italy cuts red tape in boost for sportsbook
Regulator's palinsesto ufficiale to be discontinued as liberalisation of online framework continues in regulated Italian market
Italy’s regulator looks set to allow sportsbook operators to compete more easily with the black market by bringing an end the official schedule of sports bets and allow operators to manage their own markets and bet settlement.
The official schedule – or palinsesto ufficiale – contains regulator AAMS’ authorized list of sports betting markets which are set-up, monitored and settled by the regulator for Italy-facing operators.
However, according to a current proposal, this process is likely to be discontinued and the responsibility handed to the operators themselves.
The move will be welcomed by sportsbooks as the official list only contains roughly 10% of betting opportunities found in the dot.com environment and had been considered to be one of the major reasons behind Italy’s stubborn black market.
Since 2013 operators have been permitted to publish their own complementary list of bets – palinsesto complementare – pending prior regulatory approval, in order to better compete with unlicensed rivals.
But the introduction of the complementary list has also been viewed as a half measure with operators still required to meet the requirements of the official list.
According to Giulio Coraggio, head of the Italian gambling practice at DLA Piper, the establishment of the complementary offer meant the official schedule had become an “unnecessary protocol”.
In addition, Coraggio said the change could open the market up to new and innovative betting products, such as ‘cash out’, which are unable to be introduced under the current framework.
“AAMS may take this opportunity to update the provisions of the sports betting decree and the cash in my bet is one very popular game mechanic in the UK whose regulations are currently quite unclear in Italy,” Coraggio said.
The potential discontinuation of the official list comes as part of a wider overhaul of Italy’s gambling industry which, should a primary law be passed in the coming weeks, will also see all online gaming verticals taxed at 20% of revenues.