Probability (LON:PBTY) has expanded its European market for mobile gambling with the award of a remote gambling licence for Italy.
It comes three months after the company made its first steps into the country after it bought the B2B mobile gambling developer, Playyoo SA.
It means the company can now add a white label service to the Playyoo offering, which will expand its reach into Italy, as Playyoo's clients are large Italian gambling companies.
White label allow non-gambling companies to recruit players to a branded gambling service without that company taking any gambling risk or needing its own gambling licence.
Probability's chief executive Charles Cohen told investors today the conditions were ideal to enter the Italian market.
"Our expertise in mobile gambling is tailor made for Italy, where some 30 per cent of adults now have a smartphone and where slots games - our best performer in the UK market - are by far the most popular way to gamble," he said.
"With the licensing of slots for online and mobile users expected to start later this year, we feel we are in the right place at the right time, with the right offering, to succeed in this very exciting European market."
Probability said it expected to launch its first service in Italy in the first half of 2013.
The cost of the licence itself is €300,000 which will be amortised over ten years, the company added.
The overall Italian gambling market was worth €18.5 billion in gross win last year - around 50 per cent more than the UK, Probability said.
However, online gambling in Italy lags behind the UK, with €1bn in gross win last year against €2.4bn in the UK.
The most important new product category still to be introduced to Italy is slots, because more than half of all wagering in Italy is on slot machines.
Regulations for slots were recently adopted by the Italian government and approved by the EU to come into force. This is expected to result in the first online slots being approved during next month.
