Italian online gambling regulator gives green light to SNAI

The decision seems to indicate that the eSports market in Italy may open up for business soon.

Italy.- The Italian online gambling regulator is likely to be open to the further opening up of the eSports market in the European country after it gave SNAI green light to offer the product alongside its traditional sports betting offering.

It has transpired that SNAI has partnered up with Sportradar to offer a limited selection of eSports betting markets and apparently it is likely to be followed by Bet365 and other operators within the coming weeks.

Fabio Schiavolin, chief executive of SNAI Cogetech, said in the wake of the SNAI/Sportradar launch, that the move to offer eSports was a matter of responding to demographic changes in the betting business.

“Betting on esports for sure will play a key role in the future of sports betting, and no bookmaker can afford to ignore it,” Schiavolin added.

Giulio Coraggio, who is a partner at the law firm DLA Piper, said the Italian gambling regulator the Agency for State Monopolies, was effectively also acknowledging the changing landscape.

“The launch of eSports betting was just a question of time, but I expect that the regulator will be open in the future to expanding the offering of eSports betting and offering other types of betting markets provided that the regulatory restrictions are met,” said Coraggio.

Experts agreed that the licensing of eSports also represented a further attempt by the Italian authorities to encourage the legal offering of a product which would otherwise migrate to offshore-licensed operators.