Q&A: PokerStars Italy country manager lauds slots launch
Marco Trucco discusses how the operator's recent product diversification strategy has played in Italy
Since its acquisition by Amaya Gaming almost 12 months ago, PokerStars has made giant strides in its aim to offer customers around the globe a full suite of online products.
In Italy, PokerStars has been busy building its recently launched casino and today added slots to its Italy-facing gaming portfolio.
eGaming Review caught up with PokerStars’ Italy country manager to discuss how the launch of casino has gone down in Italy and when we should expect the addition of its in-house sportsbook.
eGaming Review (eGR): How has the launch of casino games in Italy gone? Has it had any impact on your poker revenues?
Marco Trucco (MT): Italy is a very competitive and crowded casino market, so our launch of roulette and blackjack was just the tipping of the toe into these waters. Still, many PokerStars’ players have already enjoyed playing the games. With the launch of a first batch of slots today, we are taking our next step towards a complete offer.
We didn’t see a significant negative impact on poker liquidity levels that are crucial in the closed liquidity environment.
eGR: PokerStars’ sportsbook has been launched in a number of territories. When can we expect an Italy launch?
MT: PokerStars will continue the global roll-out of the beta version of our sports betting services slowly. When we are able to announce an Italian launch, we will do so, subject to regulatory approval, and subject to the product being up to the high standards that Italian players expect of PokerStars.
eGR: Will you be marketing the sportsbook to new customers or will this purely be a cross-sell tool for existing poker and casino players?
MT: PokerStars thinks that poker, sports betting and casino games naturally complement each other, and we are excited to one-day offer all of these services to players.
Our marketing will thus reflect all the services that we offer to players, and we think that sports betting and casino games will attract new players to PokerStars.
eGR: What’s the latest on the proposed moved to a revenue rather than turnover-based tax? What impact will this have on PokerStars.it?
MT: A move to a revenue based taxation regime is something that we would welcome, as this is a much better measure. Our understanding is that our view is widely shared in the industry.
It is important that the percentage is set at an appropriate level to still allow operators sufficient margins after tax to provide high quality services.