Online bingo fans in Italy have had to face further delays, as their variation of bingo (known as Tombola) has been paused by Italian courts as they decide against allowing the online games. The online version of Tombola was launched in December 2009, but after many months of debating and legal consideration, the Italian courts have now ruled that the online games are not compliant with Italian law and have forced operators to cease all gaming activity. The problem is the introduction of interconnected offline bingo, which allows bingo halls to interconnect players.
Until the Court of Appeal overturns the decision to cease online gaming or if the Italian Gaming Authority decides to reissue the same decrees, bingo operators have to cease operations. The Italian gambling industry is huge, and in 2009 generated just under €18.7 billion making it the largest European online gaming market - beating even the UK market, which was expected to generate €10.4 billion in 2009. Due to the huge potential in the Italian gaming market, the bigger players have started making a move towards Italy, and as local operators have faced interrupted services, this could give large offshore companies the opening they need. Playtech is just one of the companies taking an interest in the Italian bingo market. Bingo players in Italy should benefit from this, regardless of the progress in Italy’s bingo debates.