PlanetWin365 eyeing regulated Italian entry
Austrian sportsbook operator hopeful of acquiring online licence "within months" after securing land-based permits
Planetwin365 announced today it was aiming to launch in the regulated Italian market “within months” after securing more than 1,000 land-based licences in the country in a deal that will shake-up the Italian sector, eGaming Review can reveal.
Speaking to eGR Thomas Smallwood, chief executive at planetwin holding company SKS365, said it had always been the group’s plan to launch a licensed offering in Italy and would now look to extend its offering online through a licensed acquisition.
“We’re evaluating how we can go about [converting our dot.com business to a dot.it domain],” Smallwood said. “It’s not possible at the moment to apply for a licence but there’s a possibility with an acquisition.”
“That’s how we’re looking to maintain our online business there, we have a lot of online customers in Italy and we wouldn’t want them to miss out,” he added.
The company, operators of the planetwin365.com domain, had continued operating without a licence on the dot com domain after failing to negotiate an entry with Italy’s regulatory body AAMS.
SKS365 Group said it had been “engaged in legal disputes with the Italian authorities” over the past few years and cited court findings in stating that it had been the subject of “discrimination” over its Italian operations.
The operator has now converted its 1,001 CTD data transmission centres in Italy into fully licensed land-based betting establishments and has since secured an operator’s licence for each one as part of the country’s new Stability Law.
“We see these new circumstances as a big opportunity for Italy and for us as a company,” Smallwood said. “Now the challenge is to continue bringing our unrivalled sportsbook and maximising customer value within the Italian regulations.”
Founded in 2009, Innsbruck-based planetwin operates regulated online gambling domain in Austria and applied for a Spanish remote gambling licence in the most recent licensing window, which closed in December.
Planetwin is aiming to be the latest entrant into the competitive regulated Italian online market after Mr Green and Paf both acquired remote gambling licences in the country when acquiring former mybet subsidiary Mybet Italia and gaming brand Winga respectively.