Italians Are Quick to Play Poker on Newly Licensed Sites

Italians have been quick to play on the newly legal and licensed online poker sites in their country. In the few days since online poker was launched in Italy, figures released by Microgame and Gioco Digitale, the two operators who managed to connect their real money table systems to the SOGEI government database, show that poker is popular.

The Italian Finance Ministry had predicted that online poker and other skill games would be worth 400 million Euros overall during the first year, with 3 percent going directly to Treasury coffers.

During the first weekend of the experimental period (5 to 7 September), when it was possible to play just three hours per day (from 2pm to 5pm), Microgame and Gioco Digitale revealed some remarkable figures, according to reports from Gambling Compliance.

Microgame, which manages a number of white label sites for smaller operators, hosted a total of 870 games with 1500 customers participating. Gioco Digitale which hosted the first ever online Texas Hold'em game on the second day of the month, processed 1,204 tournaments in which over 5000 registered users, many of them newly signed up, took part.

The government has stipulated that the cost of participation in the tournaments must be between the stipulated minimum of 0.50 Euros and the maximum of 100 Euros, with at least 80 percent of the pot being paid out as winnings, leaving operators with a maximum rake of 17 percent.

Since the gaming authority allowed operators to extend their hours from 8am to 8pm each day, it appears that activity on the sites has intensified. On 9 September, the first day of the extended hours, Gioco Digitale had 6000 registered users playing or making deposits, an indication that the claims made by Carlo Gualandri, president of Gioco Digitale, that 500,000 Italians will be playing poker in the next 12 months may not be too wide of the mark.

According to research conducted by the company many new players are attracted to the sites by the coverage of poker on late night TV programs featured on channels such as Sky Italia. However the research also pointed out that of the operator's registered users, 70 percent were already playing with overseas websites, despite the blocking of "unlicensed" sites ordered by the authorities.

The success of the first days of operations will hearten those who were concerned that there would be insufficient liquidity until Italian players were free to mix with players from other countries. AAMS had stipulated that in the first phase of regulation of online poker there would be no cash games and players from Italy would not be free to take part in tournaments organized by operators on an international level.

However it is expected that both of these rules will be relaxed once the new system has had time to be established and high profile international operators who have acquired licenses, such as Party Gaming, 888, Gala Coral Eurobet and Ladbrokes, have completed the integration of their software to allow them to operate within the technical restraints of the SOGEI system. Players will also soon be able to play 24 hours per day according to sources within AAMS.

More Poker News Articles

Moon and Cada Heads-Up, Ivey 7th at WSOP Main Event Final Table
12am Sun Nov 8th, 2009

After a marathon session at the most esteemed table in the poker world, a 21-year-old and a logger are set to go one-on-one for the World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet.

PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland Poker Tour
12am Wed Nov 4th, 2009

PokerStars.com has announced the start of a new poker tour with stops throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) will kick off in Galway, Ireland in mid-December, and the first event in the UK will be held in Manchester in February.

Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises
12am Mon Nov 2nd, 2009

According to a Monday press release, WPT Enterprises Inc., mothership of the World Poker Tour, is now the rightful property of Peerless Media, Ltd., subsidiary of online giant PartyGaming.

Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the Amazing Race Rail
12am Mon Nov 2nd, 2009

After surviving six legs of the Amazing Race by the skin of their teeth, poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were finally eliminated in the CBS reality show's most recently aired episode. Michelle and Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Events, gave reality television fans another chance to watch poker personalities compete away from the felt. Annie Duke garnered quite a following earlier in the year on another reality show competition, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.

Isaac Baron Dominates Caesars Classic Main Event
12am Sat Oct 31st, 2009

Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron ran over the final table of the Caesars Palace Classic $5,000 Main Event, amassing a huge chip lead and going home with the $246,928 first prize. It took two long days to narrow the 162-person field to the final ten. A very high percentage of the entrants were recognizable tournament circuit players, and unsurprisingly, the stacked field produced a tough final table lineup.

Tonight- ESPN shows Day Before WSOP Main Event Final Nine are Set- Oct 27
12am Tue Oct 27th, 2009

Tonight (Oct. 27) at 9pm ET, ESPN will broadcast highlights of action on the day before the Final Table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was set. Only 27 players remain when this one-hour show begins.

Frenchman Wins PokerStars EPT Warsaw Poker Tourney
12am Mon Oct 26th, 2009

At the PokerStars European Poker Tour Warsaw No Limit Texas Hold'em main event that wrapped up yesterday, French businessman Christophe Benzimra finished first taking home 358,644 Euros in prize money, while Italian poker pro Alfio Battisti finished second in the tournament.

Vedes Conquers WPT Festa al Lago Final Table
12am Mon Oct 26th, 2009

Tommy Vedes is the WPT's newest champion! Vedes outlasted 274 players to win the Festa al Lago title and the $1,218,225 first prize. Freddy Deeb, who began the final table with the chip lead, hoped to win his third WPT title and tie Gus Hansen's record. Instead, Deeb was forced to settle for 4th place, leaving room for a new WPT champ. Click here for in-depth coverage of the action and photos from the final table.

Will Hungarians Get Taxed on Poker Soon?
12am Mon Oct 26th, 2009

Hungarian lawmakers have plans to tax poker winnings and regulate clubs to generate much-needed revenues during the country's worst economic crisis since the end of communism, reports Germany's Deutsche Weele.

Freddy Deeb Leads World Poker Tour Final Table
12am Sun Oct 25th, 2009

The WPT Festa al Lago Main Event is down to the final six after five tough days of play. Two-time WPT champion Freddy Deeb brings the chip lead along with the benefit of his under-the-lights experience into Monday's televised final table. Deeb previously won the WPT Season III Aruba Poker Classic and the Season VII Celebrity Invitational. He also owns two World Series bracelets and has amassed over $6 million in tournament winnings. A win on Monday would add $1,218,225 to that total. Click here for photos from the felt and final table chip counts.