Online Gambling Firm Set To Buy Italian Poker Operator

Italian poker firm is in talks with bwin, the Austrian-based online gambling operator.

Europe's largest online betting portal is in the final stages of acquiring one of Italy's biggest online poker operators.

The Austrian firm bwin has made an offer to purchase 100 per cent of Gioco Digitale as it seeks to increase its presence in Italy's online poker market ahead of the widely anticipated deregulation of the country's gambling industry.

Both parties have disclosed that they are in the final stages of a sales and purchase agreement which James Hollins, analyst at Daniel Stewart & Company, claimed could reach €100 million (£87 million), Reuters reported.

In addition, the analyst claimed that this could be the first of many significant deals to occur in the online gambling industry over the next couple of months.

He told the global news agency: "There is still a lot of consolidation coming in this industry and this is only the start of a number of deals."

Further announcements will be made by bwin in due course, according to a press statement released by the company.

Bwin Interactive Entertainment, which is the world's second largest bookmaker, saw its revenue decline by 7.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2009.