Euroslot_Jan09_p18_19 23/12/08 13:23 Page 19
www.euroslot-online.com INTERNATIONAL NEWS - ITALY
Newslot 2. The Chinese 4.3 million Italians interested
discover a new trick in playing poker on-line
A
fter the report coming from Viareggio, other reports are coming in regarding
winnings in excess of the percentages set by law, even from outside Tuscany.
A slot machine operator, working near Empoli, in the Florence area and in the O
n-line poker has gone from being a prohibited game, outlawed in gaming
halls and played only occasionally with some trepidation at Xmas with
province of Pisa and who wishes to remain anonymous, relates what happened friends and relations, to a mass phenomenon, encouraged by the spread of
last weekend with a newslot 2, as somebody managed to discover a weakness in games on computer monitors and has grown into a multimillion euro business on
the software program regulating the winnings. Several hundred Chinese players, the web. The mania for on-line poker in Italy is spreading exponentially.
so very keen on the game, came to know very quickly about this attractive There are 4.3 million Italians interested in playing on the internet,
chance, and as a result astronomical sums were paid out. corresponding to 11% of Italians between 14 and 64 years of age. This is the
This is how, according to the slot machine operator, this came about. conclusion of the survey “Poker in Italy – an analysis of the operation, spread and
According to experts: «You have to press quickly and repeatedly on the “double” image of the game” carried out by StageUp Sport & Leisure Business, a research
key, used to chance doubling the winnings just after a win. Pressing it and consultancy company, and by Ipsos.
continuously, the program goes mad and doubling becomes automatic. Usually it Currently there are 670,000 players on-line, but after legalising games of skill
should only be possible to double your win once in every twenty operations». on the web such as poker, the national mania for the green baize could rise
According to experts, far eastern players have managed to discover this weak exponentially even among those who say they have never played before, but think
spot; however the operation of the average payout is not affected, and overall the they are ready to take the plunge: according to the research that is as many as 1.7
slot machine continues to pay out 75% of the takings, as required by the rules. million Italians.
The machine offsets this abnormal situation by dramatically reducing the The typical potential player on the internet is under 34, lives in the south of
winnings of the players who follow on. Italy and in the islands and mainly in towns of over 30,000 inhabitants. The
News about the fact that slot machines could be tampered with circulated phenomenon of “poker sportivo” is all the rage not only on the web: as also
quickly from one Chinese community to another, even before reaching the revealed in the research, poker in all its variations is a mass phenomenon with a
industry experts and the manufacturer, located in the Veneto region. Recently strong growth.
operators got worried about the situation and the double key was disabled. In Italy, the number of habitual players, i.e. those who say they play regularly
Machine cards will be withdrawn in the next few days to allow for the software or regularly enough, has more than doubled, reaching 970,000 in June 2008
to be modified, after receiving the due authorisation of the State Monopolies against 480,000 in February 2007. The sharp rise in the number of players is
Administration. According to the operator, the experts are amazed at «the speed mainly due to awareness and the spread of “poker sportivo” and in particular of
with which the news spread around within the far eastern players’ community the Texas Hold’em variant through television. 18 months ago 1.7 million Italian
through nearly invisible channels. But once and for all we can discredit the theory knew of this type of game, that originated in the United States; by June 2008
that the Chinese use their mobiles in gaming halls, or a hand held telephone the number had risen to a little over 5 million, an increase of 188%.
device similar to a mobile, to alter or tamper with the card. With their mobiles, While nearly one million Italians play poker repeatedly, another 14.5 million
they simply spread the news of their discoveries to everyone in real time, as (representing nearly 37% of Italians between 14 and 64 years of age) have played
happened last Friday. Once again they have been able to score». at least once.
Scratch cards are unaffected by the economic crisis
I
taly is being transformed into a big Rolettemburg, the city where Feodor according to the Articles of Association of the company. Lottomatica has started
Dostoyevsky set his novel "The Gambler". You do not need to have a great to place vending machines everywhere, paying dearly for space in the
insight to realise that it is just a question of turning the corner from one’s house, supermarkets and for high volume selling centres. Scratch cards range from Euro.0691 to
and of coming upon the first tobacconist, or of going in a store, a bar or a mall. Euro.06910 to attract young and old alike to challenge fate and fortune.
The password is "Scratch and win". This business is so profitable that gaming is also available online. This is big
This has generated an enormous turnover, with earnings of ?1.4 billion for the money, rocketing every year and increasing the takings from an activity that
operators of this business, exactly 15% more than last year. It can even happen instead of being called a game of chance is presented as a service to the people,
that at the checkout the assistant herself invites you to buy a lucky ticket. Even if and slot machines in bars have become devices for entertainment. Whilst Italians
the economy is in free fall, even if there is a continuous downturn in sales of have spent just Euro.06954 million since January to play on-line, typical scratch cards
assets, even if the economic situation for families is now at an all time low, have already generated takings of Euro.0699 billion in the first nine months of this year.
betting does not experience any crisis, because everybody, and I mean everybody, This is actually an amount equal to nine times the estimated total needed for the
dreams of a turning point in his/her own life with a fantastic win. This craze purchase of Alitalia. The operations of Lottomatica do not stop at scratch cards
includes people in tight economic situations, unable to have enough money to and slot machines, there are sizeable bets on the Lotto, still in the lead in sales,
get to the second week of the month, and people with a sizeable amount of on Totocalcio, Totip and Superenalotto (the 3 national lotteries), and last but not
capital in the bank, but still unable to be content with what they have got. least on the recent Formula 101 and on sport betting. This is a business where,
In short, this betting mania affects everybody in one way or the other, and according to a survey by “Il Salvagente”, the on-line daily newspaper for
although some sociologists explain this trend as a spontaneous way to create an consumers, only 20% of the takings goes into the tax coffers, because strangely
illusion to escape the monotony of every day life, there are also those who enough the operation of this vicious circle is very expensive to run.
continue to highlight the dangers behind this addiction, with the possibility of Last October Lottomatica also renewed its management contract for the
ruining entire families. It is a sad reality how easy it is to get addicted to California lotteries for another four years, netting about $250 million. With
gambling. Lottomatica is well aware of this fact: this is the company under the turnover rising steadily the share price is not far behind, completely unaffected by
control the De Agostini Group through a majority of the issued shares, that has the world economic crisis, and in consequence Lottomatica shares are rising
been managing gaming in Italy on behalf of the State Monopolies since 1993, steadily. In conclusion, this industry is not experiencing any crisis, and the reason
when it was granted the licence by the Finance Ministry, and has been managing is the ability to deceive millions of people and create the illusion of easy money,
the instant lotteries since 2004, a situation which will continue until 2070 despite the fact that national laws forbid games of chance.
JANUARY 2009
19
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