Italy opens poker bidding

Bidding process to operate online poker platforms in Italy has begun this week.

Italy.- The Government of Italy has finally announced the beginning of the bidding process to select new online poker and iGaming operators. Furthermore, the shared online poker liquidity has taken effect in the four markets that signed an international agreement last year, Italy, Portugal, Spain and France.

Through a statement released by this week’s Official Journal of the European Union report, the Italian Government revealed its interest in granting further online casino and poker licenses. The iGaming services approved by the Italian government are online poker, fantasy sports, sports betting, slots, and other online casino games.

Interested operators have until March 19 to submit their projects. In order to apply for the licenses, operators must pay a one-time fee of €200,000. The government plans to achieve €24 million from the online license applications alone throughout the year.

According to the statement, over 120 licenses could be granted during the current bidding process. The new operators would help the government achieve the amount set. Italy has recently granted 888Holding an online poker license.

888poker.it launched on January 3 with a comprehensive portfolio that includes: Snap Poker, a high speed, fast-fold poker game and Poker Blast, an eight minute, four player poker game with a prize pool of up to €300,000.