Booming Gains to Italy Gaming In 2011

Published October 25, 2011 by OCR Editor

Gaming is booming in Italy, in what has been a huge year for the industry.

Gambling is booming in Italy, with total gaming wagers rising an annualized 25.45 percent in the first three quarters of this year to 55.2 billion euros, national gaming regulator AAMS said Tuesday.

September Boosts Gambling Data

September was a particularly huge month for the local gambling industry, with total wagers reaching 6.896 billion euros, half of which were from slot machines, AAMS said in its statement.

The annualized rise to September was greater than the 23.85% seen to August, and was recorded on the back of increased slot machine wagers at video lottery terminals. The VLTs, which can be found around Italy, are operated by lottery faints Lottomatica and SNAI.

What A Year So Far!

This has been the biggest year ever for Italy's online gaming industry too, after the government formally brought in new regulations in March that opened up the market and allowed operators to offer online poker and casino games.

Online gaming giant 888casino was licensed and regulated in Italy this year, and a locally branded William Hill Casino also went live in July. In August, independent player protection and standards body eCOGRA received AAMS approval to assist the Italian market in ensuring it meets responsible gambling requirements.