Italian online poker market down 17% in November
Poker vertical continues to trend downwards as revenues from tournament and cash games tumble to 15.9m during the month
Italy’s online poker market posted significant decline in November as revenues from tournament and cash games tumbled 17% year-on-year.
Total online poker revenues hit 15.9m compared with 19.2m in November 2013 as both tournament and cash game stakes recorded declines.
Tournament revenue fell 16% from 8.7m last year to 7.3m, while cash game revenue fell 18% from 10.5m to just 8.6m.
According to rankings site Pokerscout.com, PokerStars continues to lead the charge with a 52% share of the market, while Playtech’s iPoker.it site has around 15% share.
The figures come after eGaming Review revealed revenues from Italy’s online and sports betting markets increased 72% and 11% respectively YoY in November.
Sportsbook had a particularly strong month after turnover increased from 118.7m in 2013 to 203.7m in 2014.
Growth was driven by the addition of bet365, which launched in the regulated market in September, which has also been boosted by a series of measures introduced by the regulator to liberalise the sector.
The online casino market also continued its run of recent growth after posting gross gaming revenues of 23.3m for November, an increase on the 21m recorded during the same month last year – its seventh consecutive month of growth.