Italian online poker has soared from 188 million Euros in 2008 to 200 million Euros in 2009. That's a significant increase in online poker for one year. State gambling monopoly AAMS said that total wagers rose 9.5 percent in the first five months of the year to 22 billion euros.

The obvious interest in gambling online in Italy has led to the Italian government promoting a direction that will help the remote gambling industry to gain more ground. New laws that will extend licensing agreements for casino poker, betting services and wagering on virtual events, are being formulated.

Chief Officer of remote gaming at state regulator Amministrazione Autonoma dei monopoli dei Stato (AAMS), Francesco Rodano, noted that the goal is to submit the proposed laws to the European Commission within the next few months in the hopes of having the new laws in place by the end of 2009. Rodano commented that the tax levels for the new online games would be set at 20 percent of gross profits tax. This is an increase on the current 4.5 percent tax on gross gaming revenues on sports betting.

Explaining, Rodano said, “In tournament poker we can therefore take 3 percent of gross gaming revenues but that would not work in cash games as the operator takes a rake off every pot. We will therefore take the tax off the operators’ rake, allowing them to set the rake at commercially viable levels.”

Operators are already lobbying the government to open the closed system to international operators.

Back to June 2009 Online Gambling News
Back to latest Online Gambling News
Back to Online Gambling Archive