Following a four-year break, GVC Holdings’ partypoker is back in Italy with the company’s local domain launching on April 1, 2020.
Partypoker Relaunches Poker and Casino in Italy
Italy has been one of the hardliners in the iGaming industry since the coalition government propped up by Five Star Movement has decided to deliver on its electoral promise and introduced a blanket ban on all forms of gambling advertisement. Yet, this has not dissuaded GVC Holdings to re-launch its online poker brand, partypoker, in Italy after a four-year hiatus.
Partypoker has already set-up its Italy-facing website and the operator announced it had already obtained a license which kicked in on April 1, 2020. This marks an important turning point for GVC’s popular cardroom as well as a new opportunity to add to the growing liquidity of European poker.
Spain, France and Portugal are already busy and available when it comes to poker, but moving forward, Italy will also launch a growing offer. The current tournament schedule has not yet been announced but it’s expected to be disclosed in the immediate future.
Looking Ahead Despite the Legal Difficulties
Even though Italy has become a less hospitable market for gambling of any sort, this has not completely stopped brands from bolstering their presence there. Partypoker is the latest example of this commitment to a region brimming with potential.
According to Tom Waters, Managing Director at partypoker, the present move constitutes an exciting opportunity for the company and one that must not be missed.
Despite the blanket ban effectively snuffing out all forms of gambling advertisement, partypoker feels confident about the brand’s chances to improve and expand on its offer and product. To bolster its poker portfolio, partypoker will also benefit from an active casino games license.
Weathering a Las Vegas Shutdown
Meanwhile, partypoker is also looking into ways to minimize the impact from the Las Vegas shutdown. The company has teamed up with Poker Central to bring the Poker Masters Online tournament which will kick off on April 12 and run through April 26.
There are estimated 30 different poker tournaments scheduled for the two-week event period with up to $2 million expected for the Main Event. The tournament will also award the traditional Poker Masters purple jacket.
Partypoker is just one of the companies that is bolstering its online offer. PokerStars is also running a series of online competitions including the NJSCOOP and PASCOOP in the United States, among other events globally.