Given the recent decision of the European Court of Justice in the Placanica case and the tender that allowed a large number of online and land-based gambling operators to enter the Italian market, "all eyes are now turning to Italy and its role in the liberalization of European gambling markets," said Laura Wood, a senior manager at Research and Markets.
According to Wood, MECN study includes the results of a survey MECN conducted among more than 70 international experts.
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Key Strategic Option
Due to ongoing legal concerns, Italy is emerging as a "key strategic option" for many online gaming operators, said Wood. More than 80% of the international gambling operators -- including several state operators -- surveyed believe that the Italian market will be of "major relevance" for their future business.The Italian government earlier this year decided to drastically increase the number of online and retail betting licenses. At the beginning of 2007 nearly 14.000 new betting licenses -- including sports and horse race betting shops/terminals -- emerged. Among the new operators are the giants of global gambling: Ladbrokes, Intralot, William Hill, Betfair, Gala/Eurobet. What's more, over 30 new interactive gambling operators recently obtained a license and will push the market forward to new heights.
As the study was being released this week, even more positive news emerged. Gibraltar-based EuroBet announced that it was going to open 145 "betting shops" and 258 "betting points" in Italy, said Raffealla Micuccio, marketing manager of the firm, which also owns EuroBet.com, an online payments processor.
The research report also identifies several other reasons why Italy is perceived as so attractive by gambling investors, including the following:
* Two-thirds of the experts surveyed expect another phase of liberalization in the near future that will go even further than the steps planned for 2007.
* A large majority of the experts believe that by 2010 international operators, such as Ladbrokes and Intralot, will capture a relevant share of the gambling market.
* Growth potential, especially for retail betting and interactive gambling - overall, Italy’s gambling market is expected to grow to $61 billion by 2010, an increase of 64%.
* By 2010, the retail betting market is expected to grow to $14 billion, which is about 200% over its current size.
Another growth driver will be interactive gambling, which is expected to reach ca. Euro 3.7 billion by 2010, a growth of 240% over the current level, said Wood.
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