Italy’s regulator has updated its blacklist of unauthorised gambling websites, taking the total number of ISP-blocked domains to 4,513.
Sports betting operators predominate among the 34 dot.com domains added since AAMS’ last update in July, with Italian ISPs now having been instructed to filter the domains and subdomains and make these unavailable to Italian punters by 23 August.
The 34 include mirrors for Betfair, Bwin and Unibet’s dot.coms, almost certainly not used by the operators themselves, given all hold Italian licences.
Italy’s blacklist, the largest in the world, was introduced six years ago to implement provisions of the Finance Act 2006, which established the regulatory framework for Italy’s online betting and gambling market, whereby operators were required to obtain a national licence issued from AAMS to continue targeting Italian consumers on a legal basis.
The blocks have however proved largely ineffective in preventing Italian players from playing on sites which haven’t received authorisation from AAMS, as they are easily circumvented with the use of new domains and redirects.
The current stakes-based tax for sports betting makes it difficult for licensed operators to compete with the markets and value available on offshore sites, leading to increasing numbers of Italians betting there instead of on AAMS-licensed sites, a trend reflected in the sector’s consistently poor performance figures. Lobby group the Remote Gambling Association has argued the current regime undermines Italy’s professed drive to protect consumers and collect tax revenues by regulating the online gambling sector.
AAMS is however now preparing to allow online operators to offer bets on events other than those included in its official schedule, or palinsesto, allowing licensees to close the gap to offshore sites in terms of their offer. At present, licensed operators can only offer around 10% of the markets available on dot.com sites.
The turnover tax for sports betting across Italy will remain in place, with many sportsbook operators concerned that Betfair will be unfairly advantaged when it launches its exchange there either later this year or early in 2014, given the product will be subject to a considerably lower effective tax rate of 20% of gross profits. Exchange market liquidity will however suffer from being restricted to Italian punters.
Italy, the world’s first dot.country igaming market, took an important step towards reducing the black market and bringing Italian players within its regulatory and tax regime in December, when it authorised online slots.
Article written by Katy Stirland
