British Sportsbooks Fight in Court to Access Italian Betting Market

On the streets of Palermo, Sicily, the corner sports betting run by local hustlers is nothing new. It has existed since the gladiator times. Now, Serie A and Serie B football betting is quite popular. Wondering in the Italian restaurants, the gambling news reports that football wagering is a passionate talk during some exquisite macaroni or pizza dinners.

At the same time, in Britain, the many punters, in-between the beers at a local pub, visit a sports betting outfit such as Ladbrokes, to make their wagers. In the United Kingdom, indeed, these establishments are nearby and populate many streets. Not so in Italy.

As seen in the previous article ”EU Judges Criticize Italian Gambling Laws,” we portrayed the restrictions that exist under Italian gambling laws as nothing but means to protect dinosaur operators offering nothing the modern technology brings. This has ticked off many British and European sportsbooks who challenged the law in the EU courts.

The EU Court of Justice has confirmed that the Italian Republic has discriminated EU-based firms. The ruling will make Italian sportsbooks fight for their lives from more foreign competitors that offer better platforms and a wider variety of bets. In addition, mobile betting opportunities will now arrive to local Italian restaurants where the punters will make and watch their sports bets while waiting for lasagna.

Thanks to sensible European justices, there is no more need to walk long distance to a basement-based outfit run by a nephew of a local mafioso. A punter has now many options, including placing wagers with respected and fully regulated European-based outfits.

Italian authorities will now need to have a good reason, other than protecting local gambling establishments, to deny a gaming license. The battle for Sicily has began. Android casinos will come as well. iPads will fry by spaghetti bolognese dishes while bettors wager their football stakes at dinner time. Underground basements will close. Italians can now play at many places.