Betfair Sportsbook and Casino Set to Exit Italy as Flutter Ends Operations.
Flutter is preparing to withdraw Betfair Sportsbook and Casino from Italy after regulatory changes made its Betfair Exchange product commercially unsustainable, a company spokesperson confirmed to SiGMA News. Flutter said the withdrawal would account for only a small share of its Italian revenue and would not affect its other brands or employees in the country.
“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,” a Flutter spokesperson told SiGMA News. Flutter has not announced when the products will close or identified the specific regulatory changes behind the decision.
Italy’s new gambling rules
Italy updated its framework for online gambling operators through Legislative Decree No. 41, introduced in March 2024. Under the law, operators must pay €7 million for a licence valid for up to nine years. The legislation also sets requirements covering player protection, compliance and the operation of online gambling platforms.
Betfair Exchange differs from a traditional sportsbook: customers bet against one another, either backing an outcome or betting against it. Betfair collects a commission on winning bets. The exchange depends on having enough customers placing bets to function effectively. Flutter has said the new regulatory environment made the product commercially unsustainable but has not specified which rules were decisive. It is also unclear whether the cost of Italy’s new licensing system contributed to the decision.
Flutter’s other Italian brands remain
Flutter will continue operating in Italy through brands including Sisal, Snai and PokerStars. In September 2025, the company secured five licences under Italy’s updated online gambling framework. Those concessions took effect on 13 November 2025 and are valid for nine years.
The company is also integrating Snai, acquired in April 2025, into its existing Italian operations. In April, Flutter completed the transfer of Snai customers to Sisal’s technology platform as part of a plan to combine the businesses and reduce costs. Flutter has also said Sisal achieved a record market share in June, further strengthening the group’s position in Italy’s online gambling market.
According to results published on 5 August, Flutter’s Southern Europe and Africa division recorded a 36 per cent revenue increase in the second quarter of 2026, with Italy contributing to the growth.
Financial results and wider changes
The planned Betfair withdrawal comes amid broader financial and operational changes at Flutter. The group reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $4.33 billion (€3.87 billion), up 3 per cent year on year. Adjusted EBITDA, however, fell 45 per cent to $508 million (€454 million), and the company reported a net loss of $296 million (€264 million), compared with a profit of $37 million (€33 million) in the same period a year earlier.
Read Also: Flutter Plans Up to 1,400 Job Cuts in UK and Ireland Restructuring.
Flutter attributed the weaker results to reduced profitability in its US business, higher marketing spending and increased gambling taxes in the UK. The net loss also reflected historical tax provisions in India and the US, alongside higher financing and depreciation costs linked to acquisitions.
Flutter has been pursuing cost reductions across the group. In August, it announced further measures to lower spending and reduce overlapping work. The company has also undergone a leadership change: Dan Taylor replaced Peter Jackson as Group Chief Executive Officer on 1 October 2026, following the announcement in August.
