Italy sportsbook stakes up 80% in January
Amounted wagered during the month increase by almost 100m year-on-year although gross revenues dip by 12%
Italy’s online sportsbook market has continued its rapid growth with betting stakes for January up by almost 100m year-on-year with Eurobet showing strong growth to claim second place in the market.
According to figures seen by eGaming Review, sports betting stakes were 216.3m across the month, a rise of 81% when compared to the 119.7m recorded in January 2014.
The substantial rise comes on the back of a 65% growth rate in December while stakes across the 12 months of 2014 were up 23% year-on-year to 1.6bn.
However, despite the strong underlying growth, the market suffered a dip in gross gaming revenues with just 18.1m collected in January compared to the 20.5m held during the same period last year with a poor run of results believed to be to blame.
Although figures for individual firms were not given, eGR has learned Gala Coral’s Italy-facing subsidiary Eurobet took 21.8m in stakes during January, a figure which is thought to have given it second place behind bet365 and ahead of the likes of Lottomatica, Paddy Power and William Hill.
“We are very pleased with our performance,” Carlo Di Maio, Eurobet sportsbook director, told eGR. “It’s the result of months of hard work with a focus on product enhancement, improved user experience both online and mobile, and of course a successful marketing campaign.”
Italy’s sports betting market has been buoyed over the last 12-18 months by positive regulatory changes and the licensing of major operators such as bet365, which launched its regulated offer in September and immediately claimed a market leading position.
Another clutch of operators are also set to join the market with the likes of 888, Sky Betting and Gaming, PlanetWin and PokerStars all readying a regulated sportsbook launch.