Flutter Entertainment is preparing to discontinue its Betfair Sportsbook and Casino products in Italy after regulatory changes made its Betfair Exchange business commercially unviable, a company spokesperson confirmed.
While the shutdown will phase out the Betfair Sportsbook and Casino operations in the Italian market, Flutter emphasized that the move will have a negligible impact on its overall Italian revenue and will not affect its other local brands or employees.
Addressing the shift, a Flutter spokesperson stated:
“Recent regulatory changes in Italy have made the Betfair Exchange product no longer commercially sustainable. As a result, Flutter has also decided to soon discontinue the Betfair Sportsbook and Casino product in the Italian market. This represents a very small proportion of our revenue in Italy and will have no impact on our other brands or employees based in Italy.”
The company has not yet announced a definitive closure date for the sportsbook and casino platforms, nor specified which exact regulatory adjustments triggered the decision.
Impact of Italy’s regulatory overhaul
Italy overhauled its online gambling regulations under Legislative Decree No. 41 of March 2024, establishing a framework that mandates a €7 million fee for nine-year concessions alongside rigorous player protection and operational compliance rules.
The Betfair Exchange relies on peer-to-peer betting where customers wager against each other rather than a traditional bookmaker, taking a commission on winning outcomes. Because the exchange model requires substantial liquidity and a high volume of active participants to function effectively, the new legislative and licensing pressures disrupted its commercial viability. While Flutter pointed to the broader regulatory shifts as the catalyst, it remains unclear precisely how licensing costs and specific rule changes influenced the final outcome for the exchange.
Maintaining a strong multi-brand footprint in Italy
Despite the withdrawal of Betfair, Flutter retains a commanding market position in Italy through its prominent portfolio, which includes Sisal, Snai, and PokerStars. In September 2025, the group secured five new concessions under Italy’s updated online gambling regulations, taking effect on November 13, 2025, for a nine-year duration.
The company has also progressed with integrating Snai, acquired in April 2025, into its existing Italian corporate structure, successfully migrating Snai customers to Sisal’s technology platform in April to streamline operations and drive cost efficiencies.
Supported by these integrations, Sisal reached a record market share in June, contributing to a robust 36 per cent year-on-year revenue increase in Flutter’s Southern Europe and Africa division during the second quarter of 2026.
