In 2017, the gaming market grew 6.1% on 2016, with an average increase of 6.4% (CAGR) in the period 2014-2017. This growth is due primarily to three factors:

• the positive trend reported by sport betting and virtual races (+28.1% CAGR), resulting from more unregulated operators signing up for the offer of official recognition extended by the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency;

• the popularity of online gaming, which represented 26.3% of the market in 2017, up from 3.1% in 2008;

• the highly successful relaunch of lottery games, SuperEnalotto and VinciCasa, amongst others, with new formulas and the introduction of new game variants that were very well-received by consumers.

The payout, or the amount returned to players in the form of winnings, totalled €83bn in 2017, a rise of 7.9% on 2016. The amount returned to players in the form of winnings has therefore risen from 80.3% in 2014 to 82% in 2017.

The real level of spending by the public, defined as the difference between total revenue and payout, reported a CAGR of 4% in the period 2014-2017. 

*CAGR: Compounded Average Growth Rate  **SPC: Sports Prediction Contests  ***Internal market estimates

PAYMENT SERVICES

The payment services market comprises three distinct segments: top-ups and cards, payments, and financial services. 

Financial services was the only segment to report positive performance in recent years, confirming its growing importance and reporting over €20bn revenue in 2017, with a CAGR of 8.7% in the period 2014-2017.

For more information, see the Sisal Consolidated Annual report 2017.