After four years of being excluded from Italy’s online gambling market, renowned GVC Holdings-owned online poker operator partypoker has made its long-awaited return to that market. Last week, the poker operator announced that it had successfully obtained a license to provide its top-notch online poker services in the territory. This license has been effective since April 1 and poker enthusiasts in the country can enjoy their services on the operator’s website.
What to Expect
Some of the things that Italian poker players can expect included the brand’s full tournament schedule for 2020. This means that the players can look forward to diving into some fun and exciting tournament titles along with the mind-blowing prizes that usually accompany them.
In addition to that, the players can also look forward to a plethora of amazing online poker titles from the poker operator. As noted by the company’s managing director, they have been working on improving the player experience for all their customers which makes the development very exciting. Italy has always been a key part of their expansion plans and it is great that they have now been able to check it off their to-do list.
“Despite recent changes that restrict marketing in Italy, the poker market there remains an exciting opportunity for partypoker. We will be looking to improve and expand on our product and offering over 2020 and bring a different option for the Italian poker market.”
TOM WATERS, PARTYPOKER MANAGING DIRECTOR.
Despite the significance of partypoker’s return to Italy, it is important to note that it will not necessarily be a smooth ride for the poker operator. Considering the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown in the country there are tremendous marketing restrictions in the country. Moreover, the country does not have liquidity sharing in its plans at the moment which will restrict players in the country to playing with only people within Italy.
The Uptick in Online Gaming
While the global economy and various industries including the gambling industry are still grappling with impacts of the pandemic, there has been a notable surge in online gambling activity over the past several weeks. With something as serious as a pandemic, it is extremely unethical to talk about winners and beneficiaries but it is safe to say that casino enthusiasts have been able to get in on a bit of fun while in isolation.
There are, of course, concerns with regard to irresponsible gambling behavior during these difficult times. Fortunately, measures have been taken to ensure this is not the case. For instance, gambling operators are not allowed to use any pandemic-related material to market their services. Hopefully, things will get much better soon.
