Italy sports betting and casino revenues rise in 2018 ahead of ad ban

Italian sports betting revenues rose by 10.8% year-on-year during 2018, according to figures released by Italian gaming regulator Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM).

Licensed Italian operators generated €1.48bn (£1.33bn) in revenue during 2018, surpassing the €1.34bn accrued during 2017.

Online sports betting revenues accounted for €643m (£577.1m) of this figure, a rise of 16% on the €555.6m generated during 2017, while betting turnover also rose by €1bn to €10.9bn (£9.78bn) in 2018.

Bet365 continued its dominance of the online sports betting market, commanding the largest market share at 16.32%, closely followed by SKS365, which accounted for 14.65% in 2018. Playtech subsidiary Snaitech held the third largest market share of Italian online sports betting with 10.40%.

Revenues from online casino gaming rose by 24.6% during 2018, growing to €710m (£637.2m) from a previous 2017 high of €569m. PokerStars enjoyed the largest share of this market, with an 11.12% share, while fellow operators Lottomatica and Sisal generated a 7.99% and 7.61% share respectively.

However online poker revenues fell to €82m (£73.5m) during 2018, a decline of 1.2% on the revenue figures reported in 2017, when operators reported a total of €83m.

PokerStars dominated the Italian online poker market in 2018 with a 63.32% market share, almost ten times the size of its closest rivals Sisal and Snaitech, who both had market shares of just over 6%.

Profits from online casino and sports betting could be hit hard in 2019 following the introduction of tax rises by the Italian government as part of its 2019 budget.

The subsequent rise in costs could impact EBITDA of Italian operators by as much as 20-30% according to recent estimates by Regulus Partners, therefore harming revenues for the forthcoming year. Add to this the blanket advertising ban, set to come into force in June, and the prospects for the Italian market look even bleaker.