Gambling In Italy
Italian gambling has been instrumental in changing the betting laws and wagering customs in most of Western Europe, which in turn has altered the way people gamble worldwide. Italy used the fortune-telling card brought by Saracens when they invaded Italy and utilized them for gambling. In fact baccarat was first invented in Italy and later on lottery made its appearance.
Though gambling was declared illegal in the past and IP addresses of online gambling sites blocked, with the dawn of 2007 Italy had legalized gambling. They issued about 17,000 gambling licenses that included Italian casinos, online gambling companies and betting stations. By 2010 the gaming market in Italy is supposed to rise by 64% and the interactive gambling market by 240% by 2010.
There are many land based casinos in Italy and the minimum age criteria 18. All regular casino games are available at casinos and includes games such as Baccarat, Blackjack, Keno Roulette, Craps, Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, Video Poker and Slots, and the variations mind-blowing, however with certain restrictions to online gamblers. Sports betting is also very common in Italy along with horseracing, bingo and lottery. Italian gambling law follows the guidelines set by the European Union and as such have been in compliance ever since. Sports betting is very famous in Italy and some renowned casinos have licenses to take bets over the phone and the internet from bettors.
Bingo is also equally famous and had originally started in Italy. It began as a lottery and then evolved into the game of today. The transformation from lottery to bingo was done by an American who was looking for means and ways to keep the masses entertained, and finally invented bingo. However lottery too is carried on extensively in Italy, and is conducted each week with the government collecting billions of dollars every year.
Online casino gambling is still facing restrictions when it comes to poker rooms that are allowed to operate on tournament style settings only, and other specific restrictions on certain games. Once these bans and restrictions are lifted Italians will be able to gamble freely and enjoy their favorite online game from the comfort of their homes.