Page 118 - Casino City's iGaming Pocket Directory - 2013 Edition

116 Sponsored by Casino City’s iGaming Pocket Directory
ITALY
The Italian online gaming market has followed an interesting regulatory path. It
started off by first regulating sports betting and then moved to regulate online poker,
then online casinos except for slot games, and then, in December 2012, online slot
games.
It was also one of the early pioneers in “ring fencing” players – the practice of allowing
players, particularly in poker, to only play against other players in the same country.
Italy was one of the first major European countries to ring fence players. France and
Spain eventually joined Italy in the practice.
Italy is also very aggressive about preventing Italians from gambling at unlicensed
sites. Italian authorities are vigilant about making sure the sites of unlicensed
operators, and the sites of those that provide access to unlicensed operators, are
blocked from Italian players.
In 2011, online gaming turnover in Italy was €9.8 billion according to AAMS, the Italian
regulatory agency. And 2012 figures looked to be on pace to surpass that through the
first quarter of the year.
It’s easy to appreciate the size of the Italian market – population 60.6 million – by
ITALY