Ficom Leisure - Lottery Insider
Transcription
Ficom Leisure - Lottery Insider
LONDON, ROME, MADRID, MALTA Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments Update on Italy’s Online Betting & Gaming Market April 2011 Contact +44 (0)20 793 9193 [email protected] www.ficomleisure.com In cooperation with U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Foreword Over the last few years Italy has progressively regulated its online betting and gaming sector, allowing for the development of a competitive and profitable offering, both for operators and players. As a consequence Italy, with a market value of €4.826M for 2010, has become Europe’s largest regulated online betting and gaming market and an example of successful regulation for other European countries willing to regulate this industry and generate additional tax revenues from the online betting and gaming activity taking place in their territories. “With the introduction of online poker cash and casino games Italy’s regulated online betting & gaming market is expected to double in the next 2 years” In accordance with the constantly sought improvement and evolution of this vibrant sector of Italy’s economy, on March 9th 2011, the Italian State Monopolies Administration (AAMS), published its long awaited Game License Decree (the “License Decree”), implementing Law n. 88/2009 (“Legge Comunitaria”). This set forth general terms and conditions for licensing as well as administrative and technical requirements of operators’ systems and infrastructures. The Decree replaced previous legislation and (i) set forth new rules for remote skill games with cash prizes; (ii) introduced and regulated fixed-odds remote games of chance with cash prizes (casino games), excluding lotteries and ancillary games; and (iii) introduced and regulated remote cash-based card games, in non-tournament form (mainly poker cash). This means that the offering of nationally regulated online betting and gaming products in Italy will now include, in addition to sport betting, poker-tournaments and other skill games and bingo, also poker-cash and casino games (excluding “slots”). Such an expansion of the betting and gaming offering is expected to heavily increase the size of the industry. With 12 years experience in online betting & gaming at Ficom Leisure we believe that the launch of online cash poker and casino games in Italy could double the turnover for Europe’s largest online betting & gaming market in 2011. The License Decree has made available up to 200 new gaming licenses, each for a 9year term covering all regulated games. The organic process to enter the Italian market lasts between 4 and 12 months. We also see an opportunity for consolidation that creates opportunities to acquire fully licensed online betting & gaming operators to enter and grow in the Italian market immediately. In this market update we provide a snapshot about this vibrant market, together with the latest figures and an explanation of the new regulatory framework, to assess the benefits of entering and growing in Europe’s biggest and most promising online betting & gaming market. At Ficom Leisure we have been advising in the offline and online betting & gaming industry since 1996, present in the Italian market prior to its regulation, and we can assist operators and investors in all segments of online betting & gaming in Italy. Sincerely, Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 2 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Italy’s Online Betting & Gaming Market Italy is among the few licensed online betting & gaming markets in EU. The Italian market has the strongest size and growth rate in Europe with €4.826M and +28% increase in 2010 compared to 2009. Up to March 2011 regulated online betting & gaming included sport betting, pokertournaments, bingo and other skill games. The new Game License Decree introduces poker cash games, (i.e. non-tournament poker) the most praised form of poker, and casino games (excluding “slots”), that will produce important additional growth. As a result we believe that the overall Italian online betting & gaming turnover will double in the next two years. Such tremendous growth is already attracting numerous foreign betting & gaming operators and investors to enter the Italian market. “Market value of € 4,8Bn and +28% in 2010” ITALY’S ONLINE BETTING & GAMING MARKET 2010 VALUE BY PRODUCT Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 3 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Market Opportunities The Italian online betting & gaming market presents exciting opportunities for operators, as the following market highlight show: “2011 will see the introduction of online poker cash and casino games” • Recent licensed market (boom in the last 2 years) with launch of poker cash and Casino Games expected in Q2 2011. • Online betting & gaming total market value for 2008 was €1.484M. • Online betting & gaming total market value for 2009 was €3.765M with +154%. • Online betting & gaming total market value for 2010 was €4.826M with +28,2%. • Growth of online skill games (mainly poker tournaments) of 34% and total value of €3.146M in 2010. • Growth of online sport betting of 10,8 % and total value of €1.353M in 2010. • Growth on online bingo of 217% and total value of €19,7M in January 2011. ITALY’S ONLINE BETTING & GAMING MARKET 2008 - 2010 Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 4 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Market Size 2008 • Italian online betting & gaming market evolution in 2008. • In September 2008 online skill games (mainly poker-tournament) were introduced. • Total online betting & gaming market value for 2008 was €1.484M. • Total online skill games (poker-tournament and other) market value for 2008 was €242M. ITALY’S ONLINE BETTING & GAMING MARKET 2008 MONTHLY EVOLUTION BY PRODUCT Introduction of online poker (tournaments only) “2008 saw the introduction of online poker tournaments” Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. ITALY’S ONLINE BETTING & GAMING MARKET 2008 VALUE BY PRODUCT Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 5 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Market Size 2009 • Italian online betting & gaming market yearly growth of 154% in 2009. • In December 2009 online bingo was introduced. • Total online betting & gaming market value for 2009 was €3.765M. • Total online skill games (poker-tournaments and other) market value for 2009 was €2.348M. ITALY’S ONLINE BETTING & GAMING MARKET 2009 MONTHLY EVOLUTION BY PRODUCT Introduction of online bingo “2009 saw an overall market increase of +154%” Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. ITALY’S ONLINE BETTING & GAMING MARKET 2009 VALUE BY PRODUCT Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 6 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Market Size 2010 • Italian online betting & gaming market evolution in 2010. • Online bingo increased by threefold between January and December 2010. • Total online betting & gaming market value for 2010 was €4.826M. • Total online skill games (poker-tournaments and other) market value for 2010 was €3.146M. • Total average market gross betting margin was over 15,7%. ITALY’s ONLINE BETTING & GAMING MARKET 2010 MONTHLY EVOLUTION BY PRODUCT “2010 saw the threefold increase in online bingo” Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. ITALY’S ONLINE BETTING & GAMING MARKET 2010 VALUE BY PRODUCT Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 7 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Key Operators NAME WEBSITES DESCRIPTION MICROGAME peoples.it The leading licensed operator for sport betting, skill games and poker, instant lotteries, bingo and national totalisator games. It provides white-label online operations to more than 130 online partners in Italy. The vast majority of users are brought via Offline Affiliates (PDC). SNAI snai.it Leading betting shops operator. Operates all online betting and gaming products (poker under Playtech network). LOTTOMATICA lottomatica.it better.it The world's largest operator of lotteries. Owns the Better and Totosi brands for sport betting in Italy. Acquired the Boss Media poker network via its subsidiary G2 online gaming software B2B provider in March 2008. TOTOSI totosi.it Provides sport betting, poker and other games. Acquired by Lottomatica in June 2008. SISAL sisal.it Operates the Superenalotto and betting shops. Offers online sport betting via its brand Match Point, and poker (Playtech network), bingo and other games. BWIN ITALIA bwin.it Sport betting, poker, bingo and other games. Acquired GiocoDigitale in September 2009. Merging with PartyGaming. GIOCODIGITALE giocodigitale.it gdpoker.it Early leader in Italy’s online poker. Also provides sport betting, bingo and other games. Acquired by Bwin in September 2009. COGETECH iziplay.it B2B provider to Mister Toto for sport betting and PowerPoker for poker (Playtech network). INTRALOT intralot.it Global provider of gaming systems to lottery organizations, it operates online sport betting, poker (PartyGaming network), bingo and other games in the Italian market. POKERSTARS pokerstars.it Leading global online poker operator (proprietary software). BETCLIC betclic.it Part of BetClic Everest Group, it operates sport betting and poker (Playtech Network). EUROBET eurobet.it Owned by Gala Coral, it operates sport betting, poker (Playtech network), bingo and other games. ITALYPOKER italypoker.it Italian online poker operator (LSP network). PARTYGAMING partypoker.it The global operator was among the latest entrant in the Italian online poker market (proprietary network). Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 8 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Sport Betting Key Operators 2010 ITALY’s ONLINE SPORT BETTING KEY OPERATORS 2010 NAME TOTAL REVENUES M MARKET % MICROGAME 25,2% SNAI € 340,5 € 170,1 12,6% LOTTOMATICA € 165,5 12,3% TOTOSI 11,9% MATCH POINT € 160,4 € 128,4 BWIN ITALIA € 122,5 9,0% EUROBET € 61,7 4,5% GIOCODIGITALE € 42,1 3,1% COGETECH € 14,3 1,0% INTRALOT € 9,6 0,7% PIANETA SCOMMESSE € 3,4 0,3% TOTO 2000 OTHER € 1,9 0,2% € 131,2 9,7% TOTAL € 1.352,2 100,0% 9,5% Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. Together with the new licensing framework the list of probable new entrants includes 888+Endemol, Betsson, Ladbrokes, PaddyPower, WilliamHill, Poste Italiane, Full Tilt, Everest, Titan. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 9 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Poker Key Operators 2010 The Italian licensed poker market (tournaments only) was opened up by AAMS in September 2008 and since it has showed impressive growth and value, bringing in several international operators in addition to national players. ITALY’s ONLINE POKER KEY OPERATORS 2010 NAME TOTAL REVENUES M MARKET % POKERSTARS BWIN ITALIA / GIOCODIGITALE € 624,1 19,8% € 487,2 15,5% LOTTOMATICA € 352,8 11,2% SNAI € 202,6 6,5% SISAL € 147,7 4,7% ITALYPOKER € 110,9 3,5% PARTYPOKER € 66,1 2,1% EUROBET € 62,7 2,0% COGETECH € 40,5 1,3% INTRALOT € 8,21 0,3% BETCLIC € 8,15 0,3% OTHER € 1035 32,9% TOTAL € 3145,96 100% Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 10 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Main Poker Networks 2010 According to the Italian Online Betting & Gaming licensing regime, poker networks must include Italian players only, i.e. they cannot be linked to international poker networks. ITALY’s MAIN ONLINE POKER NETWORKS 2010 NAME TOTAL REVENUES M MARKET % PEOPLE’S € 892 28,3% ONGAME € 487,2 15,5% PLAYTECH € 461,7 14,7% LSP € 114,5 3,6% PARTYPOKER € 74,3 2,4% OTHER € 1.116,3 35,5% TOTAL € 3.146,0 100% Source: AAMS, Ficome Leisure elaboration. ITALY’s MAIN ONLINE POKER NETWORKS & OPERATORS 2010 Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments NETWORK OPERATOR PEOPLE’S ONGAME MICROGAME BWIN, GIOCO DIGITALE PLAYTECH BETCLIC, COGETECH, EUROBET, SISAL, SNAI, ITALYPOKER LSP PARTYPOKER PARTYGAMING, INTRALOT OTHER INDEPENDENT LOTTOMATICA, POKERSTARS AND OTHERS © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 11 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 Latest Market Data Jan-Feb 2011 • The value of sport betting for January and February 2011 was €137,8M and €129,5M. • The value of skill games (mainly poker) for January and February 2011 was €298,6M and €248,9M. • January total average market gross betting margin was over 13,7%. • February total average market gross betting margin was over 25,8%. “The average margin for sport betting operators in February 2010 was 25,8%” Source: Ficome Leisure elaboration. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 12 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T In cooperation with APRIL 2011 Previous Regulatory Framework Before 2005 Online Betting & Gaming Operators carried out operations in the unregulated Italian market via “.com” websites without the need to abide to a specific legal framework. By Decree n.223 of July 4th 2006, the Italian Autonomous Administration for State Monopolies (AAMS) established the regulatory framework for carrying out Online Betting & Gaming operations in Italy whereby operators would require a national gaming license granted by AAMS. Law n. 102 of August 3rd 2009 introduced further important modifications to the legal framework and offering of Online Betting & Gaming. Under the former legal framework: “Italian national regulation and licensing started in 2006” • Licenses were issued to Italian corporate entities; • H/W and S/W technical infrastructures for data transmission and processing and relevant connection with SOGEI (the Information and Communication Technology Company of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance) had to be located in Italy; • Gaming and corporate taxes were to be paid in Italy; • Non-licensed operators could be sued and “.com” website made unreachable from Italy. As the first major market in continental Europe to liberalize its online gaming market, Italy has unsurprisingly been the subject of intense interest and conjecture. The monthly publication of turnover figures by the Italian AAMS offers for the first time the opportunity to Online Betting & Gaming Operators to truly benchmark performance in a given territory and gain an insight as to how newly-regulated markets perform and mature. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 13 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T In cooperation with APRIL 2011 New Regulatory Framework “New licensing regime will take place in early 2011” On 9 March 2011, the Italian Autonomous Administration for State Monopolies (AAMS) through the publication of its long-awaited Game License Decree, which implements Law n. 88/2009 (Legge Comunitaria), launched the public procedure for the awarding of new gaming licenses, and for the integration of existing licenses, in relation to: • Remote betting, pools and lotteries, skill games with cash prizes, including card games in tournament form, and bingo (previously regulated in Italy); and • Newly introduced (i) remote fixed-odds games of chance (casino games), except spin slots, (ii) remote cash-based card games in non-tournament form (e.g., poker), (iii) remote bets on simulated events and fixed-odds betting with direct player interaction, and (iv) further remote bingo features (to be activated upon enactment of relevant gaming regulations). Games under (i) and (ii) above have been introduced and regulated by the recent Skill Games Decree published on February 3rd 2011. On March 10th 2011, AAMS published on its website the tender rules and the documents setting out the general terms and conditions for licensing, including the text of the gaming licence deed, as well as the administrative and technical requirements of the licensees' systems and infrastructures (the "License Decree"). The new legal framework can be summarized as follows: • New games: cash-mode skill games (poker) and casino games (except “slots”); • One license for all regulated games (betting, poker, casino, bingo, etc); • New licenses (up to 200) issued to corporate entities located in EEA countries. • New licences will have a nine-year term and may not be transferred, either directly or indirectly; • Servers dedicated to Italian market and connected to SOGEI (the Information and Communication Technology Company of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance) can be located in EEA countries; • Certification of base platform + authorization of individual games; • Operators must pay gaming taxes in Italy; • Turnover of at least €1.5M from Online Betting & Gaming in the last 2 years, or • Post with AAMS a two-year first demand guarantee for an amount of at least €1.5 million. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 14 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T In cooperation with APRIL 2011 Opening For Operators & Investors Participation in the licensing procedure is permitted to individual enterprises, partnerships, undertakings, joint ventures, consortia and to-be-incorporated entities (partnerships and unincorporated entities must be incorporated prior to the execution of the gaming license deed). The selection process for the award of up to 200 new gaming licenses is open to: “Up to 200 new licenses will be available to corporate entities located in EEA countries” • Gaming operators which (i) are licensed/authorized to conduct their activities in an EEA country where they have their registered office or operational headquarters; (ii) have a hardware/software system dedicated to the activities covered by the license and are compliant with the technical requirements set forth in the License Decree in an EEA country; (iii) have achieved in the last two fiscal years, directly or through their affiliates, total gaming revenues of at least €1.5 million or, alternatively, post with AAMS a two-year first demand guarantee for an amount of at least €1.5 million; and (iv) satisfy certain other requirements and conditions specified in the License Decree; • Non-EEA gaming operators which (i) are licensed/authorized to conduct their activities outside an EEA country; (ii) post with AAMS a two-year first demand guarantee for an amount of at least €1.5 million; (iii) possess, directly or through their affiliates, specified technical/infrastructural capabilities certified by an independent entity; and (iv) satisfy certain other requirements and conditions specified in the License Decree; • Non-gaming operators which (i) post with AAMS a two-year first demand guarantee for an amount of at least €1.5 million; (ii) possess, directly or through their affiliates, specified technical/infrastructural capabilities certified by an independent entity; and (iii) satisfy certain other requirements and conditions specified in the License Decree; Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 15 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T In cooperation with APRIL 2011 Licensing Application Procedures License applications must be prepared in the Italian language (with a sworn Italian translation of any enclosed foreign language document), based on the instructions set forth in the License Decree and its accompanying forms. License applications must be physically filed at AAMS headquarters in Rome together with the documents and certificates required in the License Decree. At the time of filing of the license application, a one-year first demand bid guarantee must be posted with AMMS for an amount equal to 50% of the applicable license fee (see below) and, in any case, no less than €40,000. “License applications must be physically filed at the AAMS headquarters in Rome” The final term for the filing of the license applications is set in December 30th, 2011. Based on the current indications from AAMS, applications to include spin slots in the licensee's portfolio can be filed not earlier than 4th quarter of 2011. Existing licensed remote gaming operators interested in continuing to offer online games, and possibly integrate their games portfolio with the newly introduced online games, must (i) file an ad hoc application with AAMS within 30 days of publication of the License Decree (i.e. by April 8, 2011) and (ii) within the succeeding 90 days, on penalty of revocation of the previous authorization: (a) adjust their systems, organizational procedures and activities to the provisions of the License Decree (i.e., providing AAMS with the relevant technical report based on the guidelines set forth in the License Decree); and (b) complete the specific administrative and technical procedure set forth in the License Decree and execute a deed of integration of the existing license, in the form attached to the License Decree. License applications will be examined on a first-come-first-served basis and up to 200 licenses will be awarded by AAMS through specific decisions to be issued within 90 days from filing of the relevant applications (the 90-day period may be suspended in case of incomplete and/or unclear documentation). The 200 gaming licenses cap will not apply to applications filed by existing licensed online gaming operators. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 16 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T In cooperation with APRIL 2011 Licensees’ Key Obligations Pursuant to the License Decree, each licensee must comply, among other things, with the following obligations: • • • “Hardware and software infrastructures in an EEA country” • • • • • • • Possess and maintain hardware and software infrastructures dedicated to the activities covered by the license in an EEA country; Conduct its activities in compliance with the gaming license deed or integration deed (Convenzione or Atto Integrativo) and guarantee service levels set out in the AAMS technical regulations through its own organization or third party providers; Carry out any commercialization/marketing activities exclusively through its selected channels; Exclude consumers residing in Italy from the offer of skill games via websites or remote channels (managed by the licensee or its affiliates) other than those operated in compliance with licenses issued by the AAMS (it should be noted that this poses customer migration issues for a number of ".com" operators, particularly in light of the measures recently taken by the AAMS vis-à-vis operators enabling Italian players to access both ".it" and ".com" sites); Comply with the prohibition on intermediation in the promotion and offering of remote gaming and the prohibition on collecting in physical locations, including locations managed by the so-called commercialization outlets (PDC) which avail of devices that facilitate electronic participation; Provide a first demand performance guarantee as set out in the License Decree, to be adjusted on an annual basis; Use dedicated bank/postal accounts for handling all amounts deposited by players in their gaming accounts (details of accounts must be communicated to the AAMS and amounts can only be used for debit transactions expressly authorized by the player); Adopt and publish a remote gaming account contract and a Service Chart in the form attached to the License Decree; Adopt self-limitation and self-exclusion measures for players; and Communicate to the AAMS any change to its legal status or to its shareholdings in excess of 5%. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 17 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T APRIL 2011 In cooperation with Cost of Licensing One-off license fee for new license €300,000 plus VAT, or €50,000 plus VAT for bingo only, or €350,000 plus VAT for licenses encompassing online bingo 1st semester = €50,000 License fee 2nd semester = 2.5% NGR (but max 7.5% of early NGR in aggregate) “420,000€ for a new license and 20% on GGM” Technical costs Platform set-up and integration (SOGEI – gaming S/W providers) Business Planning and Budgeting Finance and accounting, external affairs, legal and post-licensing compliance, CRM and marketing, technical, etc. Gaming taxes • Sport betting 2% - 5% for each bet • Bingo 11% of buy-in • Skill Games 3% of collections • Poker Tournaments 3% of collections • Poker Cash games 20% of Gross Margin • Casino games 20% of Gross Margin • New Games 20% of Gross Margin NOTE: Gaming activities are VAT exempt and therefore 20% VAT on services received by the operator is not deductible. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 18 U P DA T E O N I T A LY ’ S O N L I N E B E T T I N G & G A M I N G M A R K E T In cooperation with APRIL 2011 Marketing & PR Requirements Ficom Leisure analysis in collaboration with Agipro shows that all the operators use a complex marketing mix that includes all the medias. “Italian online betting & gaming operators focused their marketing spending on TV” • The measured overall media expenditure for 2010 is in the range of €54/56M excluding sport sponsorship. • Among the media TV received the biggest spending with €30M (Mediaset, SKY, La7 mainly) as it is considered to carry the lower acquisition cost per player. • The second preferred media are newspapers, with an overall spending of €11M, followed by online marketing with €6M. MARKETING EXPENSES BY SUPPORT 2010 Source: Ficome Leisure elaboration. Ficom Leisure Ficom Leisure Advisory & Investments © 2011 Ficom Leisure. All rights reserved. 19 FICOM LEISURE About Ficom Leisure At Ficom Leisure we have been advising for the Offline Online Betting & Gaming industry since 1996, and present in the Italian market prior to its regulation; we can assist operators and investors in all segments of Online Betting & Gaming in Italy. EXPERTISE ACTIVITIES Contact +44 (0)20 793 9193 [email protected] www.ficomleisure.com 20 About Baker & McKenzie Italy In 1989, the Italian offices of Baker & McKenzie created their IT/Communications practice group, focused on the wide range of Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT). As consistently indicated through the years by international and domestic legal reviews and publications (such as Chambers, Top Legal, etc), Baker & McKenzie Italy ranks first among the firms offering TMT legal services. IGAMING In recent years, our TMT team has developed deep knowledge and expertise in the betting and iGaming industry, currently one of the fastest growing and dynamic sectors in Italy. New legislation has recently been passed which provides a framework for growth and opportunity to all players involved in this industry. Baker & McKenzie’s professional links to the betting and iGaming industry and our global reach towards investors which deploy financial and technical resources in the sector allow us to be uniquely placed to offer specialist legal advice ain this area. Through the years we have been involved in significant corporate transactions in this area and have built a longstanding professional relationship with the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of Economic Development, and the Italian Administration of State Monopolies (AAMS). SERVICES • Regulatory and licensing advice, including drafting and filing any documentation required to qualify under all types of betting and online gaming authorizations; • M&A and partnership arrangements, including advice on tax, corporate, anti-trust and other legal aspects of national and multi-jurisdictional transactions; • Advice on regulatory issues in connection with the transfer of Italian gaming licenses and the acquisition of Italian licensed entities; • Advice on regulatory issues in connection with the setting up and certification of gaming/betting platforms; • Review/drafting/negotiation of white label arrangements, technical platform licensing agreements, online games licensing agreements; • Advice and assistance on post-licensing compliance • Advice on regulatory changes, case law and updates at EU and national level; • Advice on reporting, fraud, money laundering and other obligations; • Advice on the regulatory framework for prize contests, lotteries, prize draws and sweepstakes, gambling and online games, i-casino games, poker, poker cash, other skill games and "casual games", through Internet platforms and over new media, including television and mobile electronic communications networks and apparatuses; • Advice on Italian advertising law, including product placement advertising; • Advice on migration from .com to .it licensed operations; • Advice in relation to the establishment of the gaming related portal, including legal compliance (e.g., privacy and data protection, information security, encryption issues and record retention), content regulation and advertising restrictions, online contracts with customers and bidders, trade mark and branding issues, site sponsorship agreements/banner agreements and agreements with e-commerce (including m-commerce) partners (including royalty and revenue-sharing agreements); CONTACTS Gianluca Benedetti - Partner [email protected] Rodolfo G. La Rosa [email protected] T. + 39 06 44 06 32 92 Viale di Villa Massimo, 57 T. + 39 06 44 06 32 31 Rome 00161, Italy 21 About Agipro Founded in 2002, the press agency Agipronews is based in Rome and it’s the first daily information bureau that deals exclusively with gambling and betting, politics, economics, news, data and all the things around the gambling world. Agipronews enjoys a partnership agreement with the Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor, a leading Italian business and financial news agency that foresees the issue of Agipronews wires inside its daily bulletin. Agipro Communication is present on major national newspapers such as La Gazzetta dello Sport, Il Messaggero, TuttoSport, Quotidiano Nazionale, Corriere.it, GQ.com and Eurosport.it. It is also a regular contributor on iGaming in-depth features and reports produced by leading Italian publishing companies such us RCS, Mondadori and Condenast. In the last few years Agipro has been in charge of the PR activities for several foreign operators in Italy. ACTIVITIES Agipronews • 40/50 Daily agency news wires • Creation of newsletters • Publicity pages • Content and web management • Audio, video and multimedia services Agipro Communication Press agency operations and media relations - Public Relations -integrated communication campaigns, strategic advice on institutional communication, on internal or external business products. • Conception, creation and production of events - Advertising campaigns - communication on the Internet and new media - Operations of coordinated image. • Advertising campaign planning - Advertising budget management - Sponsorship management. • CONTACTS Mimosa Toppani - CEO [email protected] Paolo Franci - Managing Editor Agipronews [email protected] Nicola Tani – Deputy Editor Agipronews [email protected] Ilaria Benedetto – Communication Manager [email protected] Largo dei Fiorentini, 1 Rome 00186, Italy T. +39 06 68 30 87 12 www.agipronews.it - www.agiprocommunication.it 22