In positive news for Betfair, long-anticipated regulations governing the operation of betting exchanges in Italy are to enter into force on 24 May.
Betfair will not however be able to launch until its platform has been certified and approved under the new regulations, with IT agency SOGEI only due to start user-based testing in July, Italian online gambling regulator AAMS announced Wednesday.
Under the new regulations, operators will be able to charge up to 10% commission on matched bets, with this taxed at 20% by the Italian government. The minimum stake for “back” and “lay” bets placed by players will be 50 euro cents, with maximum winnings per bet capped at €10,000.
The profit tax to be levied on exchange betting, due to its non-viability under the stakes-based regime currently applied to all fixed-odds sports betting in Italy, has drawn complaints from conventional sportsbook operators that this lower effective tax rate will enable Betfair and others to offer punters far more competitive prices.
The fixed odds sports betting market has performed erratically in recent years, as operators have struggled to gain traction against offshore sites due to a high turnover tax and a limited choice of betting events and markets, even generating an overall loss in September last year.
But the strength of Betfair’s offer in Italy may also be hindered by not being able to tap into its international liquidity, with the new regulations restricting licensed dot.it operators to Italian punters at this point in time.
The regulations do however favour the London-listed business in terms of building a dominant position within the ring-fenced market, given they appear not to allow operators to form networks and pool liquidity.
Italian software provider and network Microgame, which first revealed plans to launch an exchange betting product back in 2010, announced its intention last year to roll out its People’s IBEX platform, developed with Betdaq operator Global Betting Exchange, to its client base of 160 licensees.
Italian sports betting operators will soon be able to offer a wider range of markets under a new protocol, boosting their attractiveness to Italian bettors drawn to offshore dot.com sites offering around ten times the number of football markets available on Italian-licensed sportsbooks.
Article written by Peter Holmes
