Ladbrokes Adds Poker to it's Italian Site

[iataz]

By staff


Italian fans of Texas hold’em will soon have a new domain to enjoy after Ladbrokes revealed that it will be adding poker to its sportsbetting site at Ladbrokes It in the New Year.

The British operator has received a license from regulator Amministrazione Autonoma Dei Monopoli Di Stato and is set to launch a dedicated Italian poker service early next month.
Ladbrokes stated that the new service would only be available to Italian players in accordance with local regulations, which also require all competitions to be tournaments rather than cash games.

“The regulated Italian gambling market is expected to be the biggest in Europe this year with online regulated poker expected to generate €2.2 billion in turnover,” read a statement from Ladbrokes.

“According to H2 Capital, regulated poker in Italy will generate €280 million in gross revenues for operators in 2009. With regulations set to allow cash games and casino gaming, the onshore regulated market is expected to generate gross revenues of approximately €630 million during 2010 rising to nearly €800 million by 2012.”

Ladbrokes launched its Ladbrokes.it Italian sportsbook service last year and revealed that it is also looking to expand into casino and bingo over the coming months.

“We are committed to expanding the international reach of our online business and Italy is an excellent regulated market opportunity,” said Christopher Bell, Chief Executive Officer for Ladbrokes.

“We hope that further positive changes in regulations in Italy will allow us to further expand our product range by launching cash games in poker as well as bingo and casino gaming later this year.”

Source