Italian Internet gambling revenues up 21 percent

04/12/2012 : ITALIAN ONLINE GAMBLING NUMBERS IMPROVE
 
Internet gambling revenues up 21 percent overall in February, regulator reports.
 
More detail is now available on the February revenue results from the Italian market .
 
Concerns over recent declines in the Italian market were to some extent assuaged with the release of the latest performance stats by regulator AAMS, showing that the online gambling market overall showed a 21 percent improvement in February.
 
The improvement is attributed in large part to a startling rise in fixed odds sport betting revenues – up 377 percent to Euro 25.6 million.
 
Online poker, bingo, casino and sportsbetting revenues in February rose 20.6 percent on January's disappointing equivalents to Euro 78.6 million – a year-on-year rise of almost 8 percent.
 
Internet casino, poker and skill gaming, which comprise around 70 percent of the Italian online sector, declined 11 percent on the January 2012 numbers, with casino revenues especially low by some 15 percent.
 
Lottomatica continued to dominate the Italian online casino market, commanding a 29 percent market share over rivals Gioco Digitale and its Bwin. Party sisters (12.2 percent); Sisal (10.3 percent); SNAI (9.6 percent); Winga (8.1 percent) and Will Hill (6.1 percent). 888 investors will be disappointed with that company's over 3 percent Italian decline to only 2.1 percent of the market in February.
 
Pokerstars.it and Microgame continued to dominate the online poker sector in February, although the segment languished 13 percent in cash game action and 6 percent in tournament play compared to the previous month.
 
Bingo revenues went into decline in February, down 14 percent on the January numbers to Euro 4.7 million, but more worrying 24 percent down year-on-year. With 26.3 percent of the segment, Gioco Digitale and its Bwin.Party associates was the top dog, chased by Lottomatica on 19.5 percent; Sisal on 11.3 percent and the UK bingo provider Tombola on 7.4 percent.