Stoke-on-Trent
bet365
The largest privately held operator, and the company that made in-play betting the centre of the sportsbook.
Lottomatica Group
The largest operator in the Italian market, combining online brands with a wide retail network.
What the company does
Lottomatica is the clearest example of what an operator looks like in a market where advertising is prohibited. Italy banned gambling advertising in 2018, which means customers cannot be acquired through media buying, so scale depends on brand recognition built earlier, on a retail network that acts as both a channel and a billboard, and on holding several concessions at once.
The group operates online and retail betting, online casino and gaming machines, and expanded by acquiring the operator behind Planetwin365. It was listed in Milan in 2023, separately from the lottery business that once shared the name and is now operated by a different group.
For anyone studying market entry, Italy through Lottomatica is the standard case against assuming that a licence is the main barrier: the licence is purchasable at tender, the distribution and the brand are not.
Where this sits in the supply chain
The companies that hold the relationship with the player: they take the stake, hold the account, pay the winnings and carry the licence in each market they serve. Almost everything else in this directory exists to supply them.
Questions about Lottomatica Group
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