Viva La Poker!

You don’t know Italian? Well, neither do I, but besides knowing that Italians have awesome pizza and pasta I know that poker is now allowed in Italy! Awesome news for every online poker player, as they can now play poker on localized PokerStars Italian version site. PokerStars is already welcoming all Italian players. PokerStars announced they launched PokerStars.it, which is open for all hungry Italian people wanting to play some online poker!

The new addition to PokerStars was announced right after the Amministrazione Autonome dej Monopoli di Stato in Italy (I suppose you don’t know what it means, neither do I). Basically this gave PokerStars an license to accept players wanting to play online poker for real money in Italy.

Here is what Fabio Angeli Bufalini, PokerStars Italian country manager said about their grandiose launch:

“PokerStars is proud to be entering a flourishing market with this new product. This is a ground breaking time for the online poker industry, and it’s very exciting that the Italian market is pioneering this move.”

Even though everything sounds perfect so far, there are some limitations. PokerStars.it players will be able to play on tournaments with a buy-in starting from 50¢ to a maximum of €100. Still, I don’t think this limitation will hold players from participating.

Another good news are, PokerStars said they will be also hosting tournaments where yo uwill be able to win tickets to major live poker tournaments, such as PokerStars.com European Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

According to what analytics from PokerStars said, PokerStars predict, that during the first year of online poker in Italy, over 500,000 new accounts will be created.

I always liked PokerStars’s attitude to marketing. Always diversify and look for new markets, including international. If you haven’t signed up with them, you should, as I have heard they are hosting a grand tournament this week, so hurry up and book your seat on PokerStars