Bet365 Launches Italy-Based Website

bet365’s quest to expand across Europe has just made a successful step forward with the launch of a website aimed at the Italian gaming market. The brand new bet365.it will welcome players from the country and offer the entire range of products from the operator which includes casino games, online poker and various sports betting options. All of this can be accessed from desktop computers and mobile devices.

The Italian website now joins other special sites from bet365 which have been launched under specific jurisdictions and have local licenses. Australia, Denmark and Spain each have their own licensed bet365 websites, with another application currently being pending in Bulgaria and some issues preventing the operator to launch in Germany, at least for the time being.

Market in Decline

According to reports, the management at the Stoke-based operator has been interested in entering the iGaming market in Italy for quite some time but there were concerns regarding the taxes imposed by local regulators as well as the growth rates for the future of the market.

Looking at the past few years, the poker and the online sports betting markets in Italy have not been doing very well and have seen a steady decline. Competitors in the market have reported a decrease in revenues and in growth as a result.

In addition, the taxes for iGaming in Italian markets are based on turnover amounts, rather than on gross gaming revenue as it is in most other market markets. This is less favorable for the operators but government officials are expected to review this tax soon and are likely to change it in order to meet other systems.

Steady growth

While markets may be in decline, bet365 is growing at a steady pace and it remains to be seen what strategies it will apply in Italy in order to win over customers from its competitors. Legalized foreign markets so far have seen mixed results for the operator.