IN ITALY, GAMES AND BETS ACCOUNT FOR 3.5% OF THE GDP

Rimini, 15th March 2010 - The volume of business generated each year in Italy by the betting and public game sector is equivalent to 3.5% of the GDP. In fact, in 2009 the overall takings reached 54.4 billion euros, with an increase of 14.4% on 2008 figures. Various factors caused this increase: these went from the recovery of illegal bets placed to the expansion of the sales network in the course of the last year. The positive trend is also continuing in 2010. In January, takings were 5,224 million euros, with a rise of 15.5% compared to January 2009.
Therefore, a dynamic sector will be showcased at Rimini Fiera from 17th to 20th March for the 22nd edition of ENADA SPRING, the SAPAR expo the RiminI company organizes with the sponsorship of the AAMS, the support of EUROMAT and the collaboration of ASCOB, FIDART, ANESV and S.I.CON. ENADA has become the leader in Italy and in Europe and is a fundamental appointment for the members of the gaming e amusement trades.
But let´s get back to the figures. Also last year, wins totalling over 37 billion euros were reported. The Italian government also won, as tax revenue from games and bets with cash prizes totalled 8.8 billion euros, with an increase of 13.7% on an annual basis.
In first place as far as amount of bets are concerned, there are coin-op amusement machines, which account for approximately 45% of the games´ total. The sector has undergone progressive growth rate for several years, particularly since 2003, when the traditional video poker was replaced by the New Slot Machines which, being well regulated by law, have also enabled to eliminate a considerable amount of illegal gaming.
Sports bets, which in 2009 almost reached 4 billion euros in takings, merit a separate mention. In fact, fans bet a total of 3,989 million euros, 2.1% more than the sector´s 3,908 million takings in 2008. Very limited growth compared to 2008, when sports bets chalked up a rise of 50% compared to 2,591 million taken in 2007.
Online bets went decidedly better and, with takings of 1,207.6 million euros, reported a 12.9% increase compared to the 1,069.7 millions taken in 2008. Bets on the Web in 2009 accounted for 30.3% of total takings.
2009 was another negative year for horse race betting, a market with takings of 1,981 billion euros, compared to 2,272 billion in 2008 (a drop of 13%). The same decrease was reported in the tax revenue, which was 97 million euros (13% less than 2008).
Gratta e Vinci scratch cards and National Lotteries remained steady, reporting takings of over 6.9 billion euros. On the other hand, there was a great increase for SuperEnalotto, which had takings of 2.66 billion euros, i.e. 82.3% more than in 2008.
As far as the coin-op amusement market is concerned, there are almost 350,00 machines in approximately 100,000 public and commercial venues, amusement arcades and shops specialized in the sale of public games. SAPAR has approximately 1,200 management company members.

Source: our processing of AAMS, AGIPRO and SAPAR figures

ENADA SPRING 2010 AT A GLANCE
Date: March 17-22; Edition: 22nd; Category: International exhibition; Frequency: annual; Admittance: Trade members only, payment at entrance. Full-price ticket: 15. Reduced rate ticket: 2 online for trade members; Hours: 10 am - 6 pm, last day 10 am - 4 pm; Web site: www.enadaprimavera.it

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Tel. +39 0541 744510 press@riminifiera.it
manager: Elisabetta Vitali; press office coordinator: Marco Forcellini; press and PR staff (Italy and abroad): Nicoletta Evangelisti Mancini and Alessandro Caprio; media consultant: Cesare Trevisani, Nuova Comunicazione Associati +39 335 7216314 trevisani@nuovacomunicazione.com