To understand betting in Italy, we need to go back in time to an advertising slogan from the past that provides a snapshot of Italian history from the post-war period to today, embracing everyone from the furthest corner of Sicily to towns on the border with France: “Sisal changes your life”.

When described to adolescents who spend their time clicking on smartphones and arranging to meet using a language worthy of the Enigma Code, the origins of gaming in Italy look like a flickering newsreel in black and white.
It’s hard to reconcile this past with the psychedelic colours of the latest gaming platforms developed by web design experts. But when it comes down to it, the guiding thread has remained the same since 1946, when Sisal was born out of an idea by sports journalist Massimo Della Pergola, Fabio Jegher and Geo Molo, who together invented the first prediction competition based on football results, and the tradition continues today as the company celebrates its 70th birthday by launching a brand new version of SuperEnalotto.

Illusions, habits and an Italy in such a feverish state that it seemed to change with each new football pools coupon. In the beginning, Sisal’s schedina was based on twelve football matches and the brilliant idea was to use the revenue generated to help build the sports stadiums damaged during the war.
It was a start, a sort of running-in period before the boom that came with competition number 20 in the 1950-1951 season (the first championship won by Milan in a single round, with just one point separating the team from Inter), which was the first schedina with 13 match results to predict.

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