It has been becoming more and more clear that markets that are segregated from the .com pool and have their own regulations are experiencing a constant drop in player activity. With less traffic, tax revenues expected from online poker also drop; according to the H1 2013 report of the French regulator ARJEL, online gaming indicators show a continuous decrease.
In the first half of 2013, cash game players moved €2.7 billion in the online rooms of the regulated French market, which is 14% less than the amount in the first half of last year. State revenues from online poker have dropped 12% and the number of active players was around 906,000, which is also less by 7% than in 2012. Multi table tournament traffic stagnated, but at least it did not drop.
As far as the Italian market is concerned, representatives of the regulator AAMS, Francesco Rodano and Quirino Mancini, have announced at the World Gaming Executive Summit (World GES) in Barcelona that most licensees struggle for their survival in a desert-like market in Italy.
“In principle, [Italy] is a market where operators want to be. However, it is also a very crowded market which is entering a new consolidation and integration phase. The tax model is not ideal but at least it shows some attention to the needs of the market, of the operators,” Mancini said. “A few operators are doing very well but the majority are simply surviving. PokerStars is doing well, as is Lottomatica, 888 too – and others. If I were a licensed operator in Italy I would feel as if I was being viewed as dodgy, as risky – falling under suspicion. But these companies have invested a lot in Italy, paid good money in taxes and public perception is so important – to be seen as a legitimate business contributing a lot of tax.”
These announcements follow in a series of quarterly reports of constant decrease and a more and more alarming picture of the regulated markets. Licensees urge changes as they are becoming unable to bear the taxing under the present circumstances. Representatives of the Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and British markets have recently met in Lisbon to negotiate the possibilities of realising a common, regulated market.
In the first half of 2013, cash game players moved €2.7 billion in the online rooms of the regulated French market, which is 14% less than the amount in the first half of last year. State revenues from online poker have dropped 12% and the number of active players was around 906,000, which is also less by 7% than in 2012. Multi table tournament traffic stagnated, but at least it did not drop.
As far as the Italian market is concerned, representatives of the regulator AAMS, Francesco Rodano and Quirino Mancini, have announced at the World Gaming Executive Summit (World GES) in Barcelona that most licensees struggle for their survival in a desert-like market in Italy.
“In principle, [Italy] is a market where operators want to be. However, it is also a very crowded market which is entering a new consolidation and integration phase. The tax model is not ideal but at least it shows some attention to the needs of the market, of the operators,” Mancini said. “A few operators are doing very well but the majority are simply surviving. PokerStars is doing well, as is Lottomatica, 888 too – and others. If I were a licensed operator in Italy I would feel as if I was being viewed as dodgy, as risky – falling under suspicion. But these companies have invested a lot in Italy, paid good money in taxes and public perception is so important – to be seen as a legitimate business contributing a lot of tax.”
These announcements follow in a series of quarterly reports of constant decrease and a more and more alarming picture of the regulated markets. Licensees urge changes as they are becoming unable to bear the taxing under the present circumstances. Representatives of the Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and British markets have recently met in Lisbon to negotiate the possibilities of realising a common, regulated market.
