The USA might have tried to ban online gambling simply to regulate it down
the line, at least that’s what Italy is in the process of doing. The latest
news from that government is a plan to auction off as many as 17,000
gambling licenses including permits for online casinos and poker rooms. The
start of 2007 will mark a complete turnaround by the Italian administration
on online gambling. The biggest European gambling firms are lining up to bid
for licenses in this rapidly growing sector of the market. Coral have an
Italian-language sports betting website up and running and also have
established a B&M presence in Genoa, while William Hill is partnering up
with Codere in Spain and is known to be very interested in the prospect of
moving into Italy. Finally Ladbrokes has already done a deal with Pianeta
Scommesse several months ago and followed that up in November with the
purchase of three betting shops in Turin (home of Juventus). There is a
split down the middle in the EU when it comes to online gambling. In the one
corner we have the United Kingdom now joined by Italy, Belgium, and Spain as
proponents of the regulation of the industry. On the other side with rapidly
diminishing support we find Germany and France (what a surprise for anyone
with a knowledge of European history) with a reactionary stance of local
protectionism. Our pick? The Allies will win this one as well – besting the
Hun and his Froggy pals on the battlefield of free trade! The small European
nations will fall into line once the big guns have decided which way to go
and sooner rather than later Europe will be the global leader in online
gambling.