Numbers speak for themselves: receipts of €336.9 million in December, a rise of 15.6% in comparison with the same month in 2007, making a grand total for the year of €3,908 million, a rise of 50.8% when compared with 2007.

"In general, there is no crisis in the gaming world", said Giuliano Benaglio, the national manager for Betway in Italy. "Scratch cards, lotto and sporting bets are seen by Italians as a priority way to solve their economic problems. It is strange that the less money there is around, the more people play. It's possible that the amount spent on a single transaction may be less, but the volume has increased: however the overall result is that the chances of a player winning are reduced, and the bank is better off".

Data referring to 2008 highlight an increase in online betting (+19.9% on the previous year). As Mr Benaglio explains, the online player is somebody between 18 and 45 years of age, middle class, with a reasonable amount of money at his/her disposal (a credit card is needed for the majority of the Internet transactions). In the main, players are men, but recently an increase in female participation has been noted in events that are not strictly connected to football.

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