The sports betting market - Italy

1.2 Global market

The global sports betting market is estimated to reach $***.** billion by ****, registering a CAGR of **.*% from **** to ****.

The demand for sports betting is driven by factors such as the changing regulatory landscape of the entire gambling industry, the penetration of connected devices, and the development of digital infrastructure.

The global sports betting market Italy, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

In terms of sport type, soccer events generate the most revenue compared to all other forms of sports. Soccer accounts for over **.* percent of the market share and is expected to multiply in the future. After soccer, the horse racing segment accounts for the second largest market share and is expected to grow at a CAGR of **.*% during the forecast period.

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest share of sales, at about **.*% in ****, and is expected to maintain the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

1.3 Italian market

Italy is the fourth largest market for sports betting. The size of the sports betting market in Italy reached a value of $*.* billion in ****, accounting for *.*% of the global market size. Italy accounts for **% of the market size in the European region.

The sports betting market in Italy grew at a CAGR of *% during ****-****, as the world recovered from the pandemic and people, in general, became willing to spend on betting, having been forced to miss sporting events for much of the year. In addition, the industry in Italy was experiencing good growth before the pandemic.

Size of the sports betting market in Italy Italy, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

1.4 Covid Impact

In early ****, the outbreak of COVID-** had a major impact on the industry, as most outdoor facilities were closed and people were forced to spend most of their time in their homes, resulting in no sports being played for most of the year, which in turn meant no wagering activities. Activity was closed for most of the year due to government-imposed restrictions and blockades. As a result, in ****, the value of the sports betting market in Italy declined by * percent.

After the easing of restrictions, the industry witnessed an upswing in demand: the sports betting market in Italy grew by a significant ** percent in ****, increasing the market size by $*.* billion.

the COVID-** pandemic greatly affected the sports industry due to restrictions on sports activities in most parts of the world. However, online sports betting increased in popularity during the pandemic due to betting on eSports.

Source: ****

2.1 Most popular gambling games

Due to the pandemic and travel restrictions imposed by the Covid scenario and a greater propensity to go digital, online is now the predominant gaming channel for * in * players (***).

Most popular games of chance - online channel Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

Most popular gambling games - offline channel Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

2.2 Profile of sports bettors

It is the middle age groups that share the largest slice of the pie: **% of the bets were made by players aged **-**; **% by the **-** age group. Far behind are the Over ** players (***).

Age of sports bettors Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

Finally, the gender distribution trend was confirmed: it was men who placed almost all (***) of bets in ****, compared to **% of bets placed by women.

Gender of sports bettors Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

2.3 Geographical distribution of soccer bets

The amount of soccer betting in Italy decreased in **** compared to the previous year, after a sharp decline in **** due to the coronavirus pandemic (***). In ****, Campania was the Italian region with the highest number of soccer bets, totaling nearly *** million euros. In ****, however, soccer betting in Campania generated about *.* billion euros.

Still analyzing the Lottomatica Observatory data for **** instead, we can analyze the geographic origin of sports bettors for Lottomatica bets in ****. the bulk of the bets (***).

Sports betting by macro area Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

2.4 The most popular sports for betting

In ****, the amount of soccer betting in Italy was about five times that recorded for tennis betting. Overall, the amount of soccer bets was about **.** billion euros in that year, up from about *.* billion euros in ****.

Amount wagered for sports betting by type of sport Italy, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

3.1 Online industry analysis

as market shares, in terms of online GGR (***).

Main online sports betting operators by market share Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

Gross gaming revenue (***) from online sports betting in Italy increased significantly from March **** to June ****.

In April ****, the GGR of online sports betting reached nearly ** million euros, down from more than ** million euros in the previous month. The sharp decline was likely due to the emergency restrictions put in place during the coronavirus pandemic (***), as all sports events were canceled or rescheduled during the nationwide lockout implemented in March.

With the gradual lifting of the lockout in May, sports events resumed. Therefore, GGR recovered in June **** and increased further over the following year, peaking at nearly *** million in May ****. As of June ****, gross sports betting revenues in Italy amounted to €*** million.

Gross gaming revenue (***) from online sports betting Italy, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

3.2 Geographical distribution of sports betting centers

Campania was the Italian region with the largest number of sports betting facilities in ****. That year, there were *,*** sports betting stores in that region. It was followed in the ranking by Lombardy and Sicily, with more than *,*** stores each.

Source: ****

3.3 Italian cities with the highest gross gaming revenue (GGR)

Naples was the Italian city with the highest gross gaming revenue (***) from sports betting in betting shops as of August ****. In the first eight months of ****, Naples' GGR was about **.* million. Rome and Milan followed, with a GGR of about ** million and ** million euros, respectively.

Italian cities with the highest gross gaming revenue (***) - physical betting Italy, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

Naples was the Italian city with the highest gross gaming revenue (***) from virtual sports betting placed in betting shops as of August ****. In the first eight months of ****, Naples' GGR was nearly ** million euros. Rome and Milan followed in the ranking, with a GGR of about ** and **.* million euros, respectively.

Italian cities with the highest gross gaming revenue (***) - online betting Italy, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

3.4 Main market players

Below we provide the turnover of major sports betting companies in ****. Leading the ranking is Snaitech S.P.A. with a turnover of ***.* million euros. it is followed by SISAL ENTERTAINMENT S.P.A. with a turnover of ***.* million euros and SISAL ENTERTAINMENT S.P.A. with a turnover of ***.*. Finally there is GBO Italy SpA with a turnover of ***.* million euros. gBO Italy SpA was created in **** through the merger of Lottomatica Scommesse with Goldbet.

Main sports betting companies by turnover Italy, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

Below we provide the number of betting outlets of some of the prinicpal companies. lottomatica holds **** outlets while Snai holds **** .

Betting outlets by companies Italy, ****, in units Source: ****

3.5 How to open a betting center

The first step is to open VAT number. In fact, a betting center is identified as a continuous, structured and organized activity. This means that you cannot carry it out as a casual worker, but you must start a sole proprietorship or a corporate form.

Thanks to the ComUnica telematics system, you now have the possibility to carry out this operation also on your own. While this allows you to reduce costs and time, you must be careful to make the right choices. In fact, you will need to fill out a series of forms at the Internal Revenue Service website assessing:

type of company form; aTECO code; tax and contribution regime.

Compared to other businesses open to the public, a betting center requires specific licenses such as a Public Safety license. This is issued by the Police Headquarters in the relevant city where your business activity is based. Here are the requirements needed to obtain it:

operable premises with commercial use; you must not have any criminal convictions; clearance from the municipality to open the premises; presence of an ADM concession or a convention with licensed concessionaires.

It can take * to * months to verify the requirements and actualize the Public ...

4.1 Types of bets

There are several ways to make sports bets in Italy. We will take the example of soccer in this part, because it is this sport that concerns most sports betting and it would be too long to make an exhaustive list of all existing bets. Moreover, the vast majority of the types of bets that can be made on soccer matches are very similar to the bets that can be made on many other sports.

When to bet? The pre-match Betting Bets: These are the simplest and best known bets. In general, you can bet a few days before the start of the event until the event begins, which closes the betting. There are special cases such as the winner of the championship where you have to bet a few months in advance. Live betting This is the main difference between paper and online betting. The latter usually take place on a dedicated interface where there is often a video replay as well as commentary Which event to bet on?

Bettors are allowed to bet on several events that may occur in the same game. The types of bets vary by operator and sport.

The *N* (***) This is the most common ...

4.2 Analysis of various companies' policies in terms of betting bonuses

In the chart above we have provided an analysis of the bonuses offered for online customers by some of the major companies in the market.

4.3 Supply trends: e-Sports

The latest sports betting news concerns e-Sports, which are professional video game events. These are tournaments, such as soccer simulations, where the levels of competition are comparable to those of real soccer. The trend is growing steadily and will become very important in the near future.

A number of ADM-licensed operators have recently added esports competitions to their schedules, for example bet***, Eurobet and Snai.

Eurobet provides its members with odds only on the League of Legends World Championship, but it follows all the matches in this tournament.

Snai also only covers the tournament called World Championship League of Legends. Unfortunately, it has fewer betting opportunities than the other two bookmakers: only the winner of one match.

Bet***, currently deals only with LoL and Dota *. In fact, it follows the tournament called The International, which concerns Dota *, and the World Championship, of LoL.

From **** to ****, the total revenues of the eSports market in Italy have been gradually increasing. Moreover, as reported in the forecast, the figures are expected to increase steadily from **** to ****. Specifically, in ****, the eSports market generated about €*.* million. Subsequently, it is estimated that total revenues related to this sector will increase significantly, reaching ** million euros by ****.

The eSports ...

5.1 Regulations

To comply with tax authorities in Italy, online betting companies must obtain a license from the Customs and Monopolies Agency, which requires a payment of ***,*** euros and a ** percent tax on the operator's gross gaming earnings. 

The founding legislation regarding the sports betting industry was Ministerial Decree No. ***/**, recently replaced by Ministerial Decree No. ***/**. Until ****, when sports betting was introduced, one could not bet on events other than horse racing. So there was a strong presence of illegal foreign bookmakers in Italy.

The turning point with regard to sports betting occurred with Directorial Decree No.***/**, which introduced telematic or telephone acceptance of sports bets by concessionaires. Ministerial Decree No.***/** in particular establishes the rules regarding sports betting or other events other than horse racing. Included in this category in addition to games based on sporting events are games other than horse racing, which are: sports-based prediction contests, fixed-odds betting, fixed-odds betting, fixed-odds betting involving modes of interaction between individual consumers, and fixed-odds and fixed-odds betting on simulated events. Article *, paragraph *, in particular gives the Ministry of Finance the authority to authorize the concessionaire with regard to telephone or telematic collection of bets.

As far as fixed-odds sports betting is concerned, the ...

6.1 Segmentation

• SNAITECH S.P.A.
• Betpremium
• ADMIRAL Sport Srl
• BWIN ITALIA S.R.L.
• EUROBET ITALIA S.R.L. UNIPERSONALE
• SISAL ENTERTAINMENT S.P.A.
• SPORTBET - S.R.L.
• Lottomatica