Italy’s gambling sites have solid May but further curbs loom

Italy’s online sports betting operators roared back to life in May after suffering a rare setback in April.

Figures published by Italian gaming news outlet Agimeg show Italy’s licensed online sports betting operators reported turnover rising 6.4% year-on-year to €518m in May while betting revenue jumped 40.4% to €40.8m. For the first five months of 2018, online betting revenue has grown 46.4% to €262.4m.

Things were more mixed on the retail wagering front, where betting turnover declined nearly 5% to €355m but revenue managed to improve 9.4% to €52.1m. For the year-to-date, retail wagering revenue is up 47% to €362.6m.

As usual, Bet365 ruled the online betting revenue charts with a 17.6% share, followed by SKS365 at 14.9%, with Playtech’s new acquisition Snaitech in third with 10.5%. On the land-based side, Snai claimed the largest slice with 13.1%, followd by SKS365 at 12.4% and Eurobet at 11.2%.