Poker News – As Italy’s economy keeps being one of the most troublesome in the European region, the latest numbers show that the country’s online poker industry is still far from recovery.
Right now while the House of Representatives votes for Italy’s 63rd government in 68 years, welcoming former major of Florence Matteo Renzi as the country’s youngest Prime Minister, industry data from newsagency Ansa / Agimeg show a significant decline both for cash and tournament poker.
During 2014’s first month, cash games Gross Gambling Revenue (GGR) generated €12,200,000, showing a 20% decline compared to January 2013, and an even more impressive 50% decline was witnessed when compared to the same month in 2012. The same negative trend is also seen in tournament poker, where the GGR generated by players was €73,000,000, marking a 26% decline compared to the €100,000,000 generated in January 2013.
PokerStars Controls Over 50% of Italian Poker Market Alone
Both cash and tournament poker numbers show also how PokerStars keeps dominating Italy’s legalized poker market, as the room accounts for over 50% of the total revenue. As it can be easily seen by the two charts below, PokerStars has managed to confirm itself as the industry leader, bringing home €228,000,000 of the total €455,000,000 generated by Italy’s global cash poker revenue in January.
The poker room kept the leading position also in tournament poker, where in January the room controlled over 60% of the market.
