Interviewed for Gioco News, Altenar’s regional director Francesco Papallo speaks on the unique scope of a traditionally prevalent sports betting market, that many global companies and landscapes look to for a point of reference.
Speaking with Francesco shed incredible light on how the market works, and how a sportsbook product, like the one developed by Altenar, can achieve success in a landscape filled with devoted sports lovers and generational bettors.
What draws operators to the Italian sports betting market?
Francesco explained that ‘Italians seem to be true sports betting enthusiasts. Surely because the providers who deal with them know how to meet their requests and offer increasingly modern and secure online platforms.’
Continuing, Francesco explained that though the country is a historically big fan of football, providers offer a wide range of sports to tailor content to the diverse face of the betting culture in the country. Francesco added, ‘in fact, online betting is not limited to football but also allows you to play on a wide range of sports, thus meeting the tastes of anyone who follows championships such as basketball, tennis or ice hockey and boxing, for example.’
With security in mind, how does Altenar’s product compare to other providers on the market?
Francesco explained the importance of security and safer gaming in the Italian sports betting market and as a result, it became clear that those looking to operate within the unique landscape must adhere to local law and regulations.
Francesco noted, ‘those who use betting sites know how important it is to choose a reliable site. For betting sites, first, you need to check if they have an authorised licence and have been issued by ADM.’
Altenar’s regional director for the Italian market continued, ‘each website must display the official logo of the agency. In this, Altenar, one of the industry's best sportsbook software providers strictly aligns the wants of the operator and governing bodies to what they offer to clients.’
Strict adherence to local law supports safer gaming for players and allows the industry to grow in the right areas, fr om technology advancements to increased content availability.
What is a feature of the Italian market space, either a product/feature or regulation that you think should be adopted by other betting landscapes?
Altenar’s regional director detailed his response to the above questions by saying, ‘well, at the moment the betting market in Italy has some limits fr om the point of view of the features compared with other countries, but being a mature market it can certainly offer the experience.’
He continued, ‘on the Front End, for example, there are a series of customizations that currently apply only in Italy but which could be a starting point for foreign countries, precisely to give the player a better user experience.’
Being well-versed in the Italian market, what trends do you predict rising in popularity, and is that something Altenar can offer to operators and players?
Speaking on the competitive nature of the sports betting market, Francesco outlined what most excites him about the future of the landscape and what could come as a product of this competitive proclivity.
Francesco exclaimed with vigour, ‘betting on “Esports” is the answer!’ and explained further that “From what can already be seen in the world of eSports betting it is a constantly growing business in Italy. Now, video games have become a real discipline. It has also been authorised by the International Olympic Committee which has thought of an ad hoc competition: the Olympic Virtual Series (OVS). In short, there is little to be surprise if such an important business has come to be created around the world of Esports.’
Interestingly Francesco forecasts the growing interest in Esports, ‘Italy is still quite behind compared to other nations, but the players show that they are interested in it as it's a market in constant growth.’
Altenar’s regional director continued, ‘I believe there will be many developments, and there will be a lot to learn, both for bettors and bookmakers, for example in risk management and markets offered. I am confident that they will have a permanent share of the turnover once they are established and become more widely used. Altenar has been offering a variety of eSports on the international market for several years now, therefore observing the restrictions set by ADM, it can be very competitive also in Italy.’
Why is Altenar the perfect provider for the Italian market?
Altenar’s regional director explained why their product is desirable for the Italian market, ‘the first value that gaming companies look for is trust and Altenar makes this its strong point: stability and flexibility.’
Noting that, ‘guaranteed stability and allowing the operator to concentrate on other aspects, it will be natural for the player to rely on a site wh ere he knows that he will not have delays in placing a bet, that during peak moments he will not suddenly find himself down on the site, wh ere he knows that it will be treated based on its individual needs and not those of an unspecified mass of other players.’
Why do you think the Italian market is revered in the way that it is?
Francesco explained with an inherent passion for the landscape that ‘Italy is considered one of the main European markets, the numbers of the betting turnover certify its position. Altenar always has an eye for all regulated markets and certainly, this is one of the reasons why this country attracts many betting providers, the current regulation that imposes restrictions on gambling is somehow seen as a challenge under the technical and software aspect.’
Noting that ‘it is not easy to build software that allows you to work in Italy in the world of betting, but whoever has the capacity can be distinguished in such a complex market.’
In your opinion, what does the future hold for the sports betting market in Italy?
Francesco continued to explain that the future of the sports betting market looks healthy and promising for pre-existing and potential operators when he answered the above question. Altenar’s regional director replied, ‘the Italian betting market is going through various criticalities, also consequent to the political and institutional situation of the country, but a strong positive signal has arrived with the extension of the licences until 2024.’
Continuing, ‘the extension of the betting licences could represent the first step towards the reform and the definitive reorganisation of the legal game in Italy. Something that the sector, one of the richest and most contributory at the tax level in Italy, seems to be particularly in need of.’
If you’re looking to harness Francesco’s expertise and Altenar’s product you should know what the current sportsbook offers and what is to come for the Italian market …
• 8 different feed providers (and more are coming) and this guarantees a complete sports offer.
• Bonus tool able to manage the most used types of bonuses (FreeBet, RiskFreeBet, CashBack) and the 0% Margin tool able to offer an increase in the odds on the desired matches.
• Player Special Markets on sports such as Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Baseball, and American Football, positive feedback has come also fr om Live bets on Basketball players in the NBA, and Formula 1 Live with 5 active markets, and we can say that in Italy not all the competitors offer these types of bets;
• Risk management and active support 24/7 and expert user segmentation service.
• Mobile App - a stand-alone managed project.
Francesco added, ‘last but not least is the betting and event management service (Asseverazioni) which is carried out by a highly professional team and in collaboration with ADM.’
Continuing with, ‘one of the various innovations for the new season is the Front End managed entirely by Widgets wh ere the operator can customise his site as he wishes’
You can contact Altenar today, to discover how its sportsbook can be tailored to you and access a wealth of knowledge surrounding one of the world's most unique betting landscapes.
