The deal will expand Stake.com's business portfolio in Europe.
Stake.com has confirmed it will acquire Baldo Line SRL, operator of Italian sports betting site Idealbet.it, from Octavian Group. The move will allow the operator to expand its presence in Europe by acquiring Italian licenses.
Baldo Line has been operating Idealbet.it since 2012 and has offices in the province of Veneto. Stake.com said the acquisition will allow it to open an office in Italy to expand its team. While it has been confirmed that Idealbet will continue to operate under its own brand within Stake.com’s business portfolio, it is currently unclear whether Stake.com intends to launch its main brand in Italy as well.
Simone Pachera, CEO of Octavian, said: “We are excited to partner with Stake.com to bring a new experience to our customers and further expand into the Italian market. Since the acquisition of Baldo Line, we have established a strong presence in the Italian market through our AGP gaming platform and HubCasino aggregator. Laying a solid foundation for Idealbet.
“We are delighted to now hand over the business to Stake.com, a globally recognized brand with a proven track record of delivering a superior player experience. We are confident that Stake will significantly contribute to Idealbet’s growth, both for our players and for the entire Italian online gaming market Bring new energy.”
New regulations for online gambling in Italy
The Italian government is reforming the country’s gambling market. Last month, Italy’s Customs and Monopoly Agency (ADM), the agency responsible for regulating gambling, submitted documents outlining the rules for new online gambling franchises. The documents were submitted to the Treasury after the framework was published in the Parliamentary Gazette in April.
The license fee is 35 times the €200,000 fee introduced in 2018, while operators will also pay 3% of annual gross gambling revenue (GGR) after tax. The Ministry of Finance believes that the increase in fees is justified because the market landscape has changed and a few large operators have become dominant, especially SNAI, Lottomatica (after the acquisition of SKS365), Flutter and Entain.
