Right to the Source is back and trying desperately to stick to formats as Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin talk through casinos in Liechtenstein, the potential of the Panama online gaming market and why Italian betting and gaming remains resilient.
The choice of markets may seem somewhat random, but it’s at least somewhat deliberate. We want to offer listeners a truly global view of the gaming market with the numbers to back it up.
Panama online gaming: A springboard for challenger brands?
We kick off in the Panama gambling market. It’s a small country where regulated online gambling GGR per capita is just $8, compared to $48 in Brazil or $27 in Mexico. Yet companies such as Codere Online see significant potential there.
And with taxes going up in larger territories, does that make smaller regulated markets such as Panama more attractive, to use as a springboard for larger markets further down the line?
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Liechtenstein casinos count the cost of self-exclusion
Next we move to Liechtenstein, where a self-exclusion passporting scheme with Switzerland is taking its toll on local casino operators.
Liechtenstein casinos are required to exclude players that have signed up to Switzerland’s self-exclusion scheme. The government expected this to prompt a 30% drop in gaming revenue, but within two weeks Liechtenstein casino revenue fell 85%. The market is now on track for a €50 million year-on-year decline in gambling tax revenue with one casino in Eschen already shutting its doors permanently.
The kicker for the Liechtenstein operators is the self-exclusion passporting doesn’t apply to German or Austrian casinos, so players can just cross the border and gamble. Ed manages some outstanding off-the-cuff calculations to size up the market in a matter of seconds.
Italian gambling: Now that’s resilient!
Finally we touch on Italy, where Ed spent last week conducting a market research project (definitely not a holiday). Despite Italian gambling operators facing an advertising ban and a pandemic, the market continues to grow. It’s also increasingly consolidated, with Lottomatica building up a strong position to establish a leading position in the market.
Coincidentally, remember Panama’s online gaming GGR per capita of $8? Italy’s is $118 for contrast.
Get all these stats and more in the full episode!
In Episode 12 of Right to the Source Robin Harrison and Ed Birkin talk through casinos in Liechtenstein, the Panama online gaming market and Italian betting and gamingt.