Top poker software developer Playtech expands its customer base in Italy, adding to its recent deal with Snai by also signing Eurobet Italia.
According to their website, Eurobet “was the first Company to accept bets via the internet in 1996.” In 1999 it partnered up with leading bookmaker Coral to form Coral Eurobet, and in 2005 the joint Coral Eurobet brand was acquired by the Gala Group, creating an all-inclusive gaming company that can offer betting, bingo, casinos and poker. The combined Gala Coral Group owns 170 Bingo Clubs, 31 Casino venues and over 1,500 licensed betting offices – and now they have added online property via Playtech’s poker software and network.
As a Playtech licensee, Eurobet Italia will gain access to Playtech’s entire range of poker games in a downloadable format. At the moment players can only use play money, but real money poker will be available later this year.
Domenico Giovando, Managing Director of Eurobet Italia, explained why Playtech was selected for this new venture:
We are delighted to have reached the agreement with Playtech. Playtech has a proven track record and were able to meet our needs, and more importantly were able to adapt their services to the Italian market. We are confident that we will both benefit from this partnership. In fact, Eurobet is one of the few Italian operators with a strong experience in poker gained on an international stage, and Playtech gives added value with their leading position in poker platform management worldwide.
Playtech’s poker software has been integrated seamlessly with Eurobet’s existing platform, including a shared wallet between sportsbook and poker room and matching language and currency. The poker client has been further customized to appeal to the Italian market while meeting all standards and regulations.
Mor Weizer, Chief Executive Officer of Playtech, is especially pleased to be solidifying Playtech’s presence in the Italian poker market after signing Snai in August of this year:
We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Gala Coral’s Eurobet, one of the leading online gaming operators, a group which is highly experienced in the global market and strongly established in Italy, and now joins Snai on Playtech’s expanding Italian poker network. We are committed to continue expanding our presence in regulated European markets in general and to specifically further establish our presence in the Italian market and look forward to working with Eurobet to provide an exciting gaming experience for Italian players. Playtech has the world’s largest non US liquidity pool and intends to leverage this experience to further its presence in the newly regulated Italian poker market and build a prominent position in the Italian market.
Italian members of Eurobet can look forward to Playtech’s many perks, which include support for several currencies and languages, an exclusive full-screen viewing mode and multi-table play. If Eurobet Italia also joins Playtech’s iPoker network (which has not yet been made clear by the announcements) they would also gain access to iPoker’s powerful collusion detection systems, centralized table management and varied promotional services including Jackpot Sit & Gos, freezeout tournaments, satellites and more.
