The new games will be subject to a gross profits tax of 20%. There are restrictions on the amounts that can be wagered, as in the buy-in for any particular skill games, including poker, played online, or at live public terminal “totems”, which is now raised from €100 to €250. Players will be limited to an initial stake investment of €1,000 for both poker and casino, requiring players to reload from their account once this amount has been wagered.
A new payback ratio, requiring at least 90% of the amount collected to be paid back to players in prizes, has also been introduced.
The new decree also allows for the organization of “multi-level tournaments” where the winner of a qualifier tournament will be able to re-invest their winnings as a buy-in for the subsequent session.
Italian regulator AAMS released figures earlier this month showing that the continued growth of tournament poker in Italy last year helped turnover from the Italian online market grow by 28% last year to €4.8bn, from €3.4bn. 96% of this was accounted for by skill games (including tournament poker), sports betting and bingo.
Operators are optimistic of a doubling of the poker industry in Italy in 2011-2012 and are buoyed by the initial turnout of the new WPT Venice event launched this week.
