Italian Gambling Market Disappointing in 2012

Tuesday January 22, 2013 : ITALIAN MARKET DISAPPOINTS IN 2012       
 
But allowing slot action as the year closed strikes a hopeful note
 
Italian operators will be hoping that the pundits are right when they say that the advent of online slots action in the dedicated Italian market should provide a much needed fillip to a declining market.
 
2012 was not a good one for the Italian online gambling industry, with AAMS numbers showing a meagre 1.9 percent increase in gambling-spend by punters to Euro 749 million, with encouraging revenues in the summer largely negated by a drop off in business during the winter.
 
Poker tournament revenues fared especially badly, sliding 37.6 percent. Casino and cash poker saw a rise of 63.6 percent and 198.8 percent, the latter mainly in December when slot action was first permitted.