Italy sportsbook revenues rise 76%
September GGR rises to 21m as bet365 makes flying start following launch in regulated Italian market late last month
Italy’s online sportsbook market grew by 76% year-on-year with the addition of bet365 to its roster of licensed operators helping push gross gaming revenues (GGR) to 21.2m for September.
According to figures seen by eGaming Review, sports betting GGR for September was 21.2m, a significant improvement on the 12m amassed during the same month last year, while stakes amounted to 133.6m, up 7% on the 125.2m posted in 2013.
Bet365 enjoyed an impressive debut in the regulated Italian market having collected around 12m in stakes despite its bet365.it site only going live on 22 September.
When extrapolated across the whole of the month, bet365 would have collected roughly 40m, equal to around 25% of the online sports betting market in Italy.
Other prominent sportsbook operators in Italy such as bwin, Paddy Power and William Hill, are believed to have maintained revenue numbers following bet365’s launch although their respective market shares have shrunk as a result.
The addition of bet365 to the regulated market is good news for the Italian regulator as it looks to boost a sector that is struggling in the face of onerous tax demands.
Sports betting in Italy is currently subject to an unfavourable turnover tax, rather than one on gross gaming revenue (GGR) and switch to a 20% tax of GGR has been mooted.
However any change to that taxation method lies in the hands of country’s Finance Minister who has not made any official comment on the matter.