In Italy, 70 percent of the online poker market share is hold by PokerStars. Now that PokerStars is also operating in the online casino market, it is becoming one of the most accessed online casinos in Italy as well.
According to gaming regulator in Italy, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (AAMS) PokerStars accounted for 2.58% of the online gambling revenue in Italy at the end of 2015. This figure is based on all casino games, such as slots, roulette, blackjack and poker. Information on the revenue generated by the poker side of PokerStars was not released by AAMS.
Player Pool Sharing
In Italy there is no player pool sharing agreement with any other country, which means that the PokerStars Italy is generating revenue solely from residents of Italy. Players of PokerStars Italy do not compete with for example players residing in France or England. As you may have read in the news, France rejected a bill in favour of poker player pool sharing just a few days ago.
PokerStars in Italy generates solid traffic, since this brand is one of the most recognizable and trustworthy in the world. PokerStars is far more popular than any other poker site in Italy. However revenues generated from this website’s clients are limited to Italy.
Compared to 2014, the revenues concerning cash games and tournament entries have declined significantly, 27% and 19% respectively.
Since June 2015 Italian politicians have been discussing the possibility of a shared player pool, however until now no decision in favour has been taken.
Casino Games
To widen its appeal in Italy, the previous poker only website has introduced general casino games last May and its now thinking about adding a sports betting section. This could easily rise up their market share in Italy.
After adding casino games, which is far more popular than poker, PokerStars increased considerably their revenue. However PokerStars Italy has still some catching up to do.
According to stats released on the market share in 2015, Lottomatica had 14.66% of the market share, followed by Sisal with 9.69% and William Hill came in third with 8.28%.
PokerStars had only 2.58% of the market share, but its share is still larger than other big online casino operators including Bet365.
Adding sports bet to their website will probably help them improve their market share in 2016. They can possibly be one of the top 6 biggest sites in Italy.
Let’s see how online gambling progresses in 2016 in Italy.
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