Paddy Power brand to withdraw from Italy
Paddy Power Betfair has announced that is to withdraw its Paddy Power brand from Italy, but will retain a presence in the country through Betfair Italia.
The PaddyPower.it platform will shut down in December, with customers set to be migrated to Betfair.it.
Sources suggest the decision to withdraw was made shortly after Paddy Power and Betfair completed a merger last year.
The operator's 3.37% of online-only sports betting in Italy in September saw it break into the top 10 operators for online and retail sports betting, according to iGB's most recent Italy iGaming Dashboard (paywall), despite not running a retail business in the territory.
Confirmation of the exit comes amid reports of a potential tax rise for both land-based and online betting operators in Italy.
Various sources in the Italian media have said the current tax rate for land-based companies could rise from 18% to 19%, while online operators face a similar tax hike, with the rate set to increase from 22% to 23%.
Related article: Paddy Power Betfair reveals H1 financial growth
Italy iGaming Dashboard: October 2017 – Planetwin365 snatches sports betting lead; casino breaks €50m barrier (paywall)