Poker Sites in Italy | List of Online Rooms

By James Spillane, Rakeback.com Staff Writer

Where Can I Play?

Legislation

Deposits & Cashouts

PokerStars

Do I Need a VPN?

Full Tilt

Rakeback rooms – where to play online poker in Italy?
Poker room		traffic avg *	Rakeback	Bonus	segregated?
	bwin Poker	10	Up to 25%	€1000	Yes – dot.it playerpool	PLAY NOW
Combined PartyGaming Player Pool		PartyPoker.it
	PartyPoker	10	Up to 30%	€400	Yes – dot.it playerpool	PLAY NOW
Voted Softest Games		PartyPoker.it
	PKR	10	30% Flat	€500	Yes – dot.it playerpool	PLAY NOW
3D Avatars		PKR.it
	PokerStars	2000	Up to 74%	€1000	Yes – dot.it playerpool	PLAY NOW
Industry Lowest Rake		PokerStars.it

* For the latest traffic figures see PokerScout.com

Where to play online casino games in Italy?

For video poker, slots, blackjack etc. these Italian casino sites are available:

• slotjava.it
• nuovicasino.it

Italy’s Online Gambling Laws – is Poker Legal?

Online poker is legal in Italy, regulated in 2009. However its players are segregated from other countries and operator taxes are partially passed onto players in the form of higher rake.

• Status of regulation:   Regulated
• Tax on Players:   Grey area – undeclared sums above €10,000 may come under scrutiny.
• Tax on Operators:   20%
• Extra Rake:   Rake is approximately 5.5% in cash games rather than 5%.
• Segregation:   Italian players can only play vs other Italian players, on dot.it networks.

Italy Poker Deposit & Cashout Methods

• Visa
• Bank Transfer
• Skrill
• Neteller

E-wallets Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) and Neteller are preferred by many grinders as they avoid fees and taxes associated with banks and gambling transactions, and don’t require you to share banking information with poker sites.

Is Italy in the PokerStars.com Playerpool?

No. As shown in the table above Italian players are segregated from the rest of the international PokerStars playerpool (dot.com) in the same way France and Spain are. Instead Italian players play on dot.it with a slightly higher rake due to the higher cost PokerStars has of operating there.

Can I Play on PokerStars.it if I’m not an Italian resident?

No. Unlike dot.fr networks where the rest of Europe can join as a second site in addition to the dot.eu, and play in the French playerpool, dot.it networks are completely segregated. Each player must legally reside in Italy and submit a codice fiscale (Italian tax number).

Online Poker in Italy – Do I Need a VPN?

The licensed dot.it networks listed above are not blacklisted domains. However players holidaying in Italy who normally play on dot.com networks may need to use a VPN as the Italian government blocks ISPs of unlicensed poker rooms.

While the poker site’s domain may be down, preventing new players from downloading the client, those who have already downloaded the software can still log in and play unrestricted.

The sites are based offshore (e.g. Malta / Gibraltar) with EU licenses – balances and cashouts remain safe despite one country’s internet censorship. If you are unable to download a poker client simply use a cheap VPN service such as StrongVPN to do so.

After install it is no longer necessary to use a VPN although some grinders continue to do so if playing over public wifi, for extra security. Site reps have confirmed on the forums that VPNs are not prohibited, with the exception of VPN use to play online from the US.

No Full Tilt Poker in Italy?

PokerStars obtained the assets of Full Tilt Poker (FTP) as part of its agreement with the US Department of Justice and re-opened the online room for real money play in some regulated EU countries on Nov 6th, 2012.

Unfortunately PS has stated that they currently have no plans to seek licenses to operate FTP in Italy, Denmark, France, Spain, Belgium or Estonia. FTP no longer offers flat rakeback and has 1/10th the traffic of PS.

For flat rakeback we normally recommend Americas Cardroom which has 27% rakeback, however Italian based players are currently restricted.

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