It has been clear for some time now that Ladbrokes was set to receive legal online gambling licenses for sports and horserace betting from the Italian state betting agency, AAMS. Amidst talks there were to possibly be other online gaming operators getting the approval as well, speculations were abound as to who the other operator(s) could possibly be. Well, it has now been confirmed that in addition to Ladbrokes, the well known and reputable land based and online gambling operator, William Hill, is to receive the honors.

As reported on the AAMS website, both companies have been granted licenses for online gambling activities as well as for land based betting in bars and cafes throughout selective areas in Italy. Bwin had previously been granted an online sports betting license, but was not included in the land based licenses this time around. Bwin said they were only interested in licenses for online casino and poker gambling, perhaps shedding light on the possibility of this sector being embraced by Italian gambling authorities as well.

Ladbrokes was granted thirty-three licenses for horseracing sites, fifty-eight licenses for sports betting sites, and fifty-one licenses for online gaming franchises. Ladbrokes has expressed their intentions to continue expanding into the Italian betting industry, which includes a fervent pursuit for even more online gambling licenses.

As for Will Hill, they recently extended their compact with online casino software developer, Cryptologic. With enhanced incentives and rights of exclusivity going to Cryptologic for three consecutive years, the contract guarantees Cryptologic's position as the online casino and and poker software developer of choice for Will Hill, who recently developed a Spanish language poker site being marketed to the thriving online gambling industry in Spain. Now, with open doors on the Italian market, it is certain the two gaming companies will be developing and marketing Italian online betting sites in the very near future.