Italy Poker Sites
Prior to 2008, Italians had to find ways around the national ban in order to play online poker from Italy. Since the ban was lifted, Italy poker sites and many Italian poker players are enjoying a growing market in Italy. A few Italian online poker sites connect to a larger international site in an Italy version for local language games. Others have been developed locally for Italian poker playing.
Best Poker Sites For Players In Italy
The Italian government limits foreign operators but allows local Italy online poker sites to operate and offer games to Italian players. As a means of allowing Italy online poker but still gaining revenue, local Italian sites are exclusively for Italian players. Foreign sites, particularly those based in other EU countries, still allow Italian players but may see further restrictions in the future.
Italian Poker Site Features
Currently, local Italian poker sites feature:
- Italian language settings for player accounts
- Italian language games
- standard game variety including Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Five Card Draw and Seven Card Stud
- satellite qualifiers for European and Italian poker tournaments like the European Poker Tour and Italian Poker Championship
Italian Poker Game Variations
Several standard poker variations are popular among Italian poker players. Stud games, both Five Card and Seven Card are among the favorite Italian poker games. Most Italians also favor Limit and No Limit Texas Hold'em as well as Omaha variations. Italy also has its own Italian poker variation on Draw Poker for a shorthand game up to six players.
The Italian poker variation of Five Card Draw is called Poker All'italiana to those outside Italy. When playing Italian poker among Italians it is simply "poker" and standard Five Card Draw is called Poker All'americana. Poker All'italiana is played with four to six players and up to 40 cards depending on the number of players.
Italian Poker Deposit Methods
The most popular Italian poker deposit methods include e-wallets and online banking services for both deposits and withdrawals. Credit cards are often used for deposits, but withdrawals back to credit cards is more difficult in Italy. The most common Italian poker deposit methods include:
- credit cards: Visa and MasterCard
- e-wallets: Click and Buy, NETeller, ECOcard and Moneybookers
- prepaid cards: Paysafecard and Ukash
- Italian online banking services: CartaSi and PostePay
- local bank transfers from supporting Italian banks
Italy Poker Bonuses
Italy poker players take advantage of new depositor welcome bonuses. Local Italian versions of international sites offer the same promotions and bonuses as their host site. Rakeback is less common as a cash reward from any poker site, but Italian poker sites with loyalty rewards give rakeback equivalent rewards. Savvy local Italy poker sites offer comparable promotions to keep players within Italy, as competition to foreign sites.
Is It Legal To Play Online Poker In Italy?
Until 2008, online poker was not legal in Italy. At that point, European Union member Italy agreed to the EU policies regarding online poker sites. Italians are now free to play online poker. However, in 2009 the Italian government added laws to regulate Italian online poker sites, requiring sites to be licensed with the Italian government and pay Italy taxes on site revenue. Some international poker sites with local Italian versions transferred their Italian player accounts to the locally licensed Italian sites.
