We live in a time of great uncertainty and possible major changes in the Italian public gaming market. Political decisions and economic moves can lead to an oligopoly, and not just for the online industry.
Lottomatica, Flutter and market balance
Possible large online gaming groups
The watchword for the future of the gaming market in Italy may be “embedding”. Having good positioning today can be crucial for the years to come. Or at least that’s what emerges from all analysis of possible scenarios for the industry. The latest market coup by Lottomatica Group Acquisition of SKS365 for 639 million eurosLeave a mark.
Lottomatica’s move actually changes the current balance in the legal public gaming market and could lead to the metamorphosis of the sector; although this is not in a very derogatory sense. Looking at online gaming market share data alone, 7.1% for the third quarter of 2023 belongs to SKS365 Lottomatica Group’s share increased to 28.3%.
The Italian giant was already the market leader with 21.2 percent, but this is very little considering the Flutter group had 20.1 percent. Now from Flutter (which stands for PokerStars, Sisal, Betfair) and rest of marketOf these, two more organizations clearly emerge: Playtech (Snai etc.) with 9.8% and Entain (Eurobet, bwin, Gioco Digitale etc.) with 9.5%.
The government is moving towards oligopoly
By adding the shares of the four groups mentioned above, this reaches 67.7% of the total. This is quite unusual in terms of legal public gaming in Italy; because since its existence, the concession regime has had an inclusive approach aimed at attracting the largest number of investors possible. However, considering the rumors on this subject cost of new concessionsthe picture appears clearer.
The Meloni Government’s intention, or at least what appears to be in its latest guidelines, will be to maintain pre-existing income levels in exactly this order: 10-11 billion euros annually, but they come from a “drier” market. In other words, a less fragmented market and the fewest possible topics to communicate.
The sports betting segment is a prime example of the ongoing transformation. With the acquisition of SKS365, valued at 9% across online and retail (with betting shops), Lottomatica’s market share will increase from 25.7% to 34.7%, giving way to Playtech (16, 4%) and Flutter It will be even stronger compared to (14.8%). and Entain (13.2%). In this case, 4 big groups they would reach 80% of the market.
