Gambling Revenues Show Increase In Italy

New data reveals upsurge in Italian gambling revenues this year.

The Italian gambling industry experienced revenue growth of ten per cent in the first four months of 2009, according to new figures.

Data released by state operator AAMS shows that wagers for the first quarter of the year totalled €17,603 (£15,799) billion, although it did not publish comparative figures for 2008, Reuters reports.

However, data from the Agipro news agency revealed that gambling wagers for April 2008 totalled €4.076 billion, compared with €4.442 billion for this year's corresponding month in the AAMS figures.

According to the most recent statistics, slot machines generated €2,014 million in Italy last month, while bingo accounted for €105 million of the gambling revenue and sports betting represented €418 million.

Last week, Italy hosted a World Poker Tour event for the first time when the Casino Di Venezia hosted a no-limit Texas hold'em tournament with a buy-in of €4,400.

The tournament was won by Swedish poker player Sven Ragnar Astrom, who took home €397,960 after beating his compatriot Martin Jacobson in heads-up play.