Industry analysts suggest questions for Flutter over Italy
Italian lobby groups have called out Flutter and the potential of cross-selling as the awarding of the state-run lottery draws closer.
Key points:
– Subject to monopoly approval, Flutter has completed its acquisition of Italian iGaming platform Snaitech
– Flutter is currently bidding for the lottery licence with its other Italian brand, Sisal
– Lobbyists have called out the practice of cross-selling using the lottery as ‘harmful and aggresive’
According to industry analysts who reached out to Gambling Insider, Flutter could be set to face questions during its Q4 earnings conference call, especially in the wake of comments from local campaign group Mettiamoci in gioco (Let’s Get in the Game) and the National Anti-Usury Consultation.
The two have made an appeal for the operator – not specifying Flutter specifically, but the winner of the Italian national lottery, Lotto – to ‘refrain from adopting harmful and aggressive commercial strategies towards vulnerable players.’
The context arises following Flutter’s recent acquisition of Pluto (Italia), the parent company of online casino operator Snaitech. However, it is key to note that the acquisition has yet to be finalised, with the move still requiring final approval from regulators.
Already, Flutter owns Sisal, an Italian lottery brand acquired in April 2022, through which it is currently bidding for the Lotto concession. The two parties wrote of their concern regarding ‘the practice of cross-selling, whereby operators can direct lottery players to other gambling products,’ with industry analysts suspecting that such a model would allow Flutter to cross-sell Sisal lottery customers – a brand which may become the owner of the nation’s national lottery licence – to Snaitech’s online casino games.
The bid comes following a change to the Italian Government’s licensing strategy, with automatic renewals of the previous concession being done away with in favour of a bidding process; something that was seen in the UK last year, with Allwyn acquiring the licence after it was held by Camelot for nearly three decades.
Industry analysts hypothesised on the ‘why’ of the Snaitech acquisition back in September, after the acquisition had been speculated on the month prior.
Now, though, much like what was seen in the UK, opposition lobbying groups have called out the practice, being cited as a ‘harmful and aggressive commercial strategy’ by the Let’s Get in the Game campaign and National Anti-Usury Consultation, who called out the use of ‘physical sales network and lottery tickets’ for cross-selling purposes as exploitative.
There has also been suggestion of imperfect communication between the respective management teams at Snaitech and Sisal. This is purely speculative, although sources have told Gambling Insider that such an issue may be cause for concern, especially ahead of the Q4 conference call.
It remains to be seen what Flutter’s public stance is on this cross-selling strategy in Italy. It is also worth nothing that Flutter operates successfully in the UK, even amid a backdrop of constant anti-gambling lobbying and scrutiny.
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