UK-based betting and gaming operator Betfair has moved into the Italian online betting market following the long-awaited launch of its betting exchange product after numerous delays. The company had to wait until the culmination of a lengthy testing process by the country’s regularatory body the Agenzie delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) who worked alongside Italy’s communications technology administrator Società Generale d'Informatica S.p.A. (SOGEI).
In a move that brings the first betting exchange to Italy, the new exchange service will join the sports betting, casino products and poker options already available to Italian punters at Betfair.it. The company announced it will operate with ring-fenced national liquidity and have agreed to pay a tax rate of 20% for commission.
With a targeted launch date expected to be following the end of the 2013/14 financial year when the company published its Q3 results, the required licenses took plenty of time to be secured and Betfair’s chief executive Breon Corcoran previously admitted he felt the launch had begun to “drag on” before insisting he was confident everything was “very close” to being finalized.
With all the loose-ends tied up, Corcoran admitted his delight at the company becoming the first fully regulated betting exchange operator in Italy, revealing he was looking forward to the prospect of being able to offer Italian betting fans the advantages that come from using Betfair; most notably the Cash Out option that has proved to be hugely popular since it went live in early 2011.
“We are pleased to be the first fully regulated exchange operator in Italy and look forward to bringing the advantages of our innovative betting platform to Italian customers, including the ability to cash out their bets. We believe this launch marks an important step in our drive to grow sustainable revenues,” Corcoran said at the launch.