“Stanley bet is leader in the Italian market, both in terms of quality of the product and due to the presence in points of sale at a national level. The company has carried out a 20-year battle to confirm its own right to be operational in Italy, after being unfairly excluded due to legal strategies from the tender process in 1999,” said the CEO of the company.

He then commented the current situation of the laws in the country: “Thanks to the sentence of the European Court of Justice, applied by national courts, the society is active in Italy, with hundreds of shops managed by franchises. Stanleybet has bought a new license to the Italian government for online gaming, a sector in which it is one of the main operators in poker, betting and casino.”

In Europe, the group operates on the B2C market in Belgium, Ciprus, Denmark, Italy, Malta, Sweden and UK, with a total of other 2,000 POS and offices and 3,000 employees. Stanleybet is also present in Croatia, Germany, Nigeria, Romania, through its own brand, dedicated to B2B, Magellan Robotech, which designs and develops top products and solutions for the world of gaming. In South America, the company is about to start operating in Peru, and is looking forward Argentina.

“As an European leader in the betting and gaming market, we want to be at the disposal of the regulatory entity, as well as of the best companies of the American continent. The recent progress of the Liverpool Centre of Studies, Magellan Robotech for the control of gambling problems through the Artificial Intelligence technique and our visit card for those who aim to regulate the sector,” he added.

When consulted about the current situation of the Italian market, he analyzed: “It is an extremely competitive market, with all the main brands of the European sector- from William Hill to Eurobet, passing through Playtech and Intralot. Besides, we are present as well as two important national companies: Sisal and Igt-Lottomatica. The GGR product is around 19 million euros, 10 of which return to the state as taxes. It is a wider gaming jurisdiction in Europe, together with the UK, which is in the fourth place in the worldwide ranking.”

“Despite the market dimension –and the employment it guarantees- the approach of the present government has been strongly hostile. A strong tax increment or limitation of the business has taken place, and even regional and local councils are forcing gambling venues to be far from places such as hospitals, churches and schools. In conclusion, Italy is still a very relevant country for the gaming sector, although perspectives are uncertain,” he affirmed.

With regard to the tax situation in Italy, Garrisi spoke: “In Italy, due to the tax rate on expenses, they are superior to 51%. It seems a lot, but it is just half of the taxes of different games. Every product has a tax limit, which may be close to 30% for lottery collection, and it is normally managed by a monopoly, or state lottery. The speech is very diverse for the products commercialized in a competitive market, such as the case of sportsbooks, where taxes also have influence on the percentage on its casino and poker, which must guarantee a big payout for the player. On the contrary, the way for illegal gaming will decline. The jurisdictions that are emerging, such as Argentina and other South American countries, must consider this aspect. In my opinion, we should charge taxes of no more than 20% to operators, enabling them to offer a good product and achieve customers in the legal market, instead of charging proceeds. An excessive taxation favors the impoverishment of the licensees and brings advantages to offshore operators.”

He then made a statement on the decision of the company after the ban of advertising for bookmakers in Italy. “Stanleybet has decided not to oppose to the ban. It was necessary to stop the monopolic business of the dominant Italian operators thanks to the connivance of the previous government. It has concluded the period in which big online gaming players conquered and kept their market share thanks to a massive and unsustainable advertising investment on TV, Internet and football stadiums. We have already expressed our concerns due to the excessive character of the advertising ban approved by the government, especially because they prevent consumers to distinguish between legal and illegal offer, but we will wait and see which will be the future steps. Without advertising, the function of POS networks will be essential, because they are the main affiliation forms of online customers. The industry must seek for instruments to enhance the participation of the customer in betting shops, payment methods in a scenario of entertainment. There is a double task: generate value on the supply chain and customer loyalty. The trend is an increment in the offer of technology, self-service terminals and innovations in Smartphone.”

Finally, he commented about the participation of the company at ENADA: “This year we present the group, 61 years of history of the company, operations at a global level and software company Magellan Robotech, born due to the need to find solution to the desires of a demanding and expert player. This year, Stanleybet has 700 sqm exhibiting space, divided in three thematic areas. 1). Stanleybet digital world. 2). Area dedicated to retail: presentation of the phyisical point, the brand Queen for the VLT sale, point of sale services Stanleybet .it.”

At the center of the booth, the company introduces Magellan Robotech, the B2B reality of technology and software development born inside the group, with all the novelties. On the first place, the online version of the championship, “TRIDENT”, which, after having a great success on the retail version, will be launched on the mobile and desktop version.

“ENADA is one of the most important events on the sector in Europe. Stanleybet has been present for 4 years, always on an exhibiting space of solutions. The event is a meeting point with the top players of the sectors in Italy, with our Italian receptors that now want to know the offer of the biggest retail operator of the sector for the future tendering proceedings,” he concluded.