Slots launch doubles Italian casino revenues
Cash and tournament poker revenues both see revenues drop by one third as casino GGR almost doubles
The introduction of online slots in December 2012 has seen casino revenues almost double year-on-year, but caused poker revenues to drop by more than a third in the first half of 2013.
Gross gaming revenue (GGR) for dot.it online casino have almost doubled year-on-year for the six months ended 30 June, according to unofficial figures seen by eGaming Review.
The six-month total was up 94.5% to 114m, with June’s figure of 17m only just shy of the 18.8m in poker GGR recorded during the month.
Regulatory body AAMS issued the first online slots authorisations last December, with operators including 888 and Intralot Italia going live in the market before the end of 2012.
Online poker tournaments saw GGR slide 36.9% year-on-year to 57m, while revenue from cash games were down 33.5% to 78.5%. However a number of new entrants to the Italian poker market are expected this year, with Playtech telling eGaming Review it will add further operators to its iPoker.it network after William Hill launches in the coming weeks.
The poker decline is in line with the first-quarter figures released by AAMS in May, though growth from the casino vertical has accelerated following an 84.7% year-on-year rise in Q1.
Luigi Magistro, deputy director of the Italian Customs Authority, revealed earlier this year that egaming taxes would not be raised in response to gross gaming revenue declining in 2012.