Most Italian poker players play for fun, not to make money. Therefore, many regulars are happy to see players from Italy at their table. However, access to Italian poker rooms is limited and available only to residents of this country. However, if you contact our managers, you can register and play at rooms such as Pokerstars.it, iPoker.it, People’s Poker, Lottomatica and 888poker Italy. In this article, we will tell you about the history of the development and current state of Italian online poker, and give you a brief overview of these poker rooms.
History of poker in Italy
Poker in Italy is considered an intellectual sport, not a game of chance. For this reason, poker is officially allowed and the organization of games is a legal business. Live poker brings quite a high income to the Italian government through taxes. This is another reason why poker is not banned in this country.
As for online poker, it is also allowed according to the law on internet gambling passed in 2001. This law allows all gambling operators to operate legally as long as they have an Italian license. In 2011, a set of rules that must be respected when conducting poker games came out. One of the rules relates to the organization of online games in Italy – foreign operators are prohibited. Therefore, local residents can not get access to international poker rooms. Thus, the leader of online poker, PokerStars, in this country has its own division with a separate pool of Italian players.
Poker in Italy has not always been legalized. For a long time it was considered a game of chance and was therefore forbidden. An important factor in the popularization of poker was the unexpected victory of the amateur Chris Manimaker at the World Series of Poker in 2003. After that a huge number of Italians started to register in online poker rooms.
The Italian government soon realized that poker could be a great source of income if it was legalized. So Italy became one of the first European countries to lift the ban on the game. In 2007, the first laws regulating poker rooms appeared. At first it was only allowed to play in tournaments and only in closed Italian pools. And only since 2011 not only tournaments, but also cash games became legal.
Poker Rooms in Italy
Today, Italian laws allow its residents to play both live and online poker. However, local players do not have access to the common pool of international rooms. This has led to the emergence of Italian reservations – representatives of the world poker rooms, which accept only players from Italy.
Italy also regularly hosts national poker tournaments. There are also international competitions. For example, the Italian Poker Tour became world famous. However, locals can not take part in international online tournaments in their country. To play in offshore poker rooms Italian players need to leave their country.
PokerStars.it
PokerStars.it is the largest Italian poker reservation. Despite the fact that the attendance of this room is much smaller than in the international PokerStars room, it is still the largest in the European online poker market. This room is of particular interest to tournament players, because large multi-table tournaments with huge prize funds are regularly organized here.
In addition to MTT, PokerStars.it offers cash games in No Limit Hold’em and SNG. The Omaha lobby is also open, but not as popular as Hold’em.
iPoker.it
Attendance of another Italian room, iPoker.it, is three times less than PokerStars.it. Nevertheless, for most poker players this traffic will be enough for active play. At prime time there are over 1000 connections, which for the Italian reservation is very good. This room will be interesting first of all for players who prefer cash games with low stakes and tournaments with small buy-ins. The level of play of most visitors is very weak, so iPoker.it can be a great source of income for experienced poker players.
People’s Poker
People’s Poker is another Italian room. Attendance at the cash tables varies from 500 to 600 players. The poker room also organizes multi-table tournaments with low and medium buy-ins. Cash is played at 4-max and 5-max tables; there is also action in heads-up. The most popular discipline is Texas Holdem, but you can find Omaha tables up to PLO400.
Lottomatica Poker
Lottomatica is a closed poker reservation in Italy, which is part of the large gambling operator BossMedia. In addition to playing poker, this site also allows you to play casino gambling and betting at the bookmaker’s office. These two sections are an additional source of recreational players. Attendance peaks in the evening of European time. About 30 cash tables gather during this period. The maximum limits are NL600-1000. Omaha is played at about 10 tables; the most popular limit is PLO50. With regular play in this room, you can get increased rakeback up to 55%.
888Poker.it
888Poker.it is another Italian reservation of the popular poker brand. Room attendance is not high, mostly played in cash at 6-max and 9-max tables on limits up to NL100. Potlime Omaha cash tables are played up to PLO25-PLO50. More expensive games are rarely played, usually during prime time – European evenings.
As for tournaments, 888Poker.it has a few dozen events a day with guaranteed prize pools. Buy-ins are usually no higher than 22 euros and the most expensive tournament, for 250 euros, takes place on Sundays. It has a €5,000 guarantee. 888Poker.it also has lottery tournaments in a 4-max format.
Conclusion
If you also want to play against weak Italian players, and register in the described poker rooms, then contact our manager. We will give you access to any of the Italian rooms on favorable terms, provide good rakeback and information support.
Telegram: @bastion_poker
WhatsApp: +7(960)229-61-98
Skype: Totti00717
