Italian Online Casinos Hit Record Figures in December

Categories: Around The Globe, News | Published by: Dave Thomas | 30 Jan 2022

Casinos in Italy had record revenue numbers in December 2021 according to the Italian customs and monopolies agency – the Agenzia Delle Dogane e Dei Monopoli (ADM).

The total Italian GGR of €312 million was the highest total since May 2021 and was better than the €304.2 million gambling revenue Italian casinos recorded in November 2021.

However, the December 2021 figures were still 13% lower than those in December 2020 when the Italian GGR went through the roof and hit €359 million.

The biggest contributor to that December 2021 increase was online casino gambling. Online wagering revenue went up to €165.5 million and was the best total for any month in 2021.

Profits Shared Among Competitors

The interesting thing is that there wasn’t a single online casino provider that dominated the market during this period. Instead, Italian online casino revenue figures were similar for most gambling providers operating in the country, and no company had a market share larger than 10%.

With a market share of 9.11%, Playtech’s Snai was the best performing online casino provider in Italy. Sisal, the operator that was recently acquired by Flutter Entertainment, had the second-largest share – 8.46% in December 2021. Pokerstars had a share of 8.2%, while Lottomatica was fourth with a market share of 7.5%. 888, Planetwin365, and Eurobet followed with market shares of 6.17%, 6.09%, and 6.07% respectively.

Sports Betting Was Down in December

Even though online casino revenue hit a record high in December 2021, both retail and online sports betting profits were down. Online sports betting revenue was at €125.1 million, while the total retail sports betting profits were €79.7 million in December 2021.

Goldbet and Snai were the two most successful sports betting providers when both online and retail sports betting revenue was considered. Goldbet had a market share of 15.4%, while Snai was a close second with a share of 15.1%.

Sisal Dominated Online Sports Betting

The Italian customs and monopolies agency reported that when it came to online sports betting profits only, Sisal dominated the market and had a share of 14.1%, thus confirming that Flutter made the right decision when choosing which Italian bookie to acquire.

Snai was a close second with a market share of 13.9%, while Bet365 and Goldbet were third and fourth with market shares of 10.9% and 10.6% respectively.

PokerStars Rules Supreme

Revenue from poker tournaments and cash poker games was also at its highest levels since April 2021. As in most countries, PokerStars dominated the Italian online poker tournaments market in December 2021.

The Flutter-owned poker provider had a market share of 47.53% which was almost five times better than its closest rival, Sisal, which had a market share of 10.07%. Snai was third with an online poker market share of 9.25% in December 2021.