December 4, 2008 (InfoPowa News) — The economic conditions may be troublesome, but Italian online poker players appear to be shrugging off the turmoil in world markets, if the latest statistics from the Ministry of Finance in Italy are anything to go by.
The Ministry has just upped its predictions on the first year of real money Internet poker turnover by an astonishing €600 million, increasing its forecast from €400 million to €1 billion, apparently recognizing a dramatically rising demand from Italian poker players.
The newly deregulated Italian poker market now has networks such as PokerStars, Playtech, and Boss Media in position to service the burgeoning market.
During November 2008, revenues increased by 41 percent month on month to €74.4 million, with Italian operator Microgame S.p.A. taking 30.3 percent of the current business, hosting more than 370,000 games during the month.