Online gambling is illegal in Italy. Just yesterday Italian police claimed to have broken up an online gambling ring operating out of bars in northern Italy. Although no arrests were made, 150 people were reported to the authorities and 250 computers and thousands of electronic devices were seized. The online gamblers had been using Internet connections to online casinos in Sweden and Romania. A number of Italian companies operate online gambling out of Malta, where the lucrative industry is regulated.

Along with ‘casino’ apparently ‘Venice’ is one of the words most frequently clicked on by users of the Internet. By acquiring Casino di Venezia, the online company Sportalnet will have the rights to its Trade Mark and consequently to redirect Internet traffic to its online operations. Sportalnet is effectively owned by International Trust Ltd, one of whose shareholders is also a shareholder of Vittoriosa Gamings Ltd, which will continue to hold the concession to operate the Casino di Venezia.

The shares of the principle shareholder in Casino di Venezia, the municipality of Venice, will be transferred to Sportalnet. It had previously been thought that the Israeli company Queenco would buy the casino, but those negotiations have been terminated. Sportal net has agreed to buy 60% of Vittoriosa Gaming over the next two years for €6.6 million (US$7.8 million), and the remaining 40% within ten. A Maltese group will be building a hotel next to the casino, in return for an undertaking by the municipality to direct around €500,000 (US$588,800) in annual business to the hotel for a ten year period. (E-12.01.05)

© Copyright 2005 CasinoCompendium



>>> return to archives
>>> return to frontpage