Mr Green set for H1 Italy launch

Online casino operator Mr Green is preparing to launch in Italy in the next few months after receiving approval from the regulator to complete its acquisition of Mybet Italia and obtain its operating licence.

The launch of the Mr Green brand is planned for the end of Q2 after agreeing a deal to acquire the former mybet subsidiary Mybet Italia for an undisclosed fee.

“The approval means that we can now offer Mr Green’s award-winning casino in the Italian market,” Mikael Pawlo, CEO of Mr Green & Co, said.

The approval by the regulator means Mr Green now also holds a licence to offer sports betting, poker and bingo, but the company said current plans relate to online casino only.

The launch will see Mr Green enter a competitive but growing market with local brands such as Lottomatica, Microgame and Sisal leading the way and foreign competition from Eurobet, William Hill and bwin.party.

Casino is now the number one grossing vertical in Italy and last year it grew 9% to post GGR of €258m.

Mr Green’s Italian launch comes after the firm recently announced plans to make a concerted push into the UK online casino market after the operator saw its 2014 EBITDA almost wiped out by its Austrian tax dispute despite a 36% surge in revenues.

Germany-based mybet spun off its loss-making Italian business in September last year, selling it to its former managing director Gianluca Torricelli who immediately plotted an extensive overhaul of its product suite but failed to secure the financing required.