Not long after it was announced that the Italian government legalized online poker for its citizens, major poker websites are beginning to receive licenses and launch the Italian versions of their sites. The Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato has been busy granting requests as quickly as possible so the revenue can start rolling in. (Take note, U.S. gov… It\’s not a complicated idea.)
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PokerStars was the first major site to announce its foray into the Italian market – legally, that is – with an Italian-only version of PS. The press release came on October 17th that PokerStars.it was up and running, and the site anticipates 500,000 accounts will be opened during its first year. As I write this post, there are more than 60,000 players at the virtual Italian tables.
Online poker betting site bwin just announced this week that it has launched its Italian-only site as well – bwin.it – that offers online poker. Most likely, many other poker sites have their applications in to the Italian authorities and are simply waiting for their licenses to be approved.
(Note to readers who are tired of hearing about Italy: Seriously? *shrug* Fine.)