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Good and Bad News for the Italian Gambling Market
By Shane Addinall Jul 19, 2022 IndustryItaly continues to recover from challenges in the last few years, and GGR from the region tells the story of finding balance after chaos.Italy’s online gambling industry experienced an uptick in its year-on-year Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) for April 2022. Although there is a decrease in the revenues compared to the previous month, this is the first increase recorded in over six months. Online casino revenues continue at a steady pace while the sports betting industry experiences slight turbulence.
Leading operators from the region found their smaller competitors to be worthy opponents, as the top four brands all lost some business to them. Revenue drops could result from rigid advertising regulations and post-pandemic stabilisations.
The Good and the Bad News
Online gambling revenues in Italy reached €292.2m in April 2022, which is an increase in the figures recorded for the same period in 2021. In April last year, the country recorded €288.1m in igaming revenues. The last positive results for igaming revenues were in November 2021, and the largest contributors were sports betting and casino divisions.
The positive results only relate to year-on-year comparisons as April revenues dropped from €302.4m in March 2022. Sports betting was the division with the biggest drop in turnover for April, with a 6.7% downturn from the previous month. The online betting industry recorded €118.9m in revenues for April compared to €127.5m in March.
Online slot and casino revenues closed at €155.1 for April, a slight decrease from March revenues of €155.5m. Compared to online slot and casino figures from 2021, revenues contracted with April last year ending at €161.2m and March ending at €158.7m.
Signs of Healthy Competition
The usual suspects on the operator leaderboard experienced a downturn in casino revenues while smaller providers recorded increases. Both Sisal and Snai felt the hit from smaller opposition the hardest, with an 8.5% and 8.3% drop in market share, respectively. Pokerstars recorded an 8.8% drop in market share and Lottomatica a 7.3% negative shift.
Regardless of the market share drops, the top four online casino operators hold on to their position as leaders and in the sports betting industry, they experienced positive results. Here, both Snai and Sisal drew more of the Italian market and increased their market share. This growth translated to both online and retail betting verticals.
Snai passed Goldbet after losing its top spot in February and took the throne once more with a 15.6% market share in betting. Goldbet remains hot on Snai’s heels with a 15.5% market share for April 2022.
Revenues for poker tournaments and cash games remain stable. Pokerstars is the leader once more with a 48.75% market share, although it is a slight drop from 51.28% in March. Year-on-year comparisons show that Pokerstars gradually lose market share to other providers. The provider regained market share in cash poker games with a peak share of 46%.
A Stabilising Market
Considering the challenges of the past couple of years and the shifts in Italian gambling regulations, the year-on-year growth is positive news despite the drop from March. With player protection at the forefront of their regulatory updates, Italian lawmakers banned gambling ads, making it difficult for players to find legal websites.
Operators feel the impact of these changes, and some estimate the black-market accounts for 23% of all gambling in Italy. Perhaps more reasonable advertising laws can assist in healthy channelling and stabilise the Italian gambling industry.
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