The tradition of public gaming in Italy

The tradition of public gaming in Italy has ancient origins, related to the Lotto game, which comes ? without any doubts - from the practice of the "lotteries" that go back to the fifteenth century A.D. in Milan. The first Lotto dates back to 1528 in the city of Florence, but it seems that Genoa (and not Naples), is the city where the game acquired the features that nowadays we well know: five numbers drawn out of 90.

Exactly since 1576, in fact, people began to bet on the names of candidates of the Grand Council of the Republic of Genoa: the names of the five members of the "Serenissimi Collegi" were raffled off among the 120 members of the local gentry. Then the names became ninety and later the game changed again replacing the names with 90 numbers.

In 1863, Lotto was famous throughout Italy, played on six wheels and fortnightly draws. Today the tradition goes on, the wheels are 11 and there are three weekly draws.

Lotto continues attracting people also thanks to the introduction of new gaming formulas and faster methods of drawings, proposed to relaunch it among the new generations of players also, which are more updated and used to faster dynamics.

It's this acceleration of dynamics and information that is changing dramatically the world of gaming, which has to be ready to face with players increasingly experienced and demanding, as well as with digital technologies and online platforms.

The turnover of the Italian lottery shops are driven not only from lotteries, including Lotto and Superenalotto, but also from "scratchers" ? a best seller in this field and perhaps the one that has the biggest wide readership - and sports betting.

Sports betting involve (mostly) men of all ages, aged from 18 years upwards, since that they give the chance to play every day deciding the investment, which can also be minimal. It is a very versatile product, able to stimulate the skills of the player and offer a real chance of winning: an effective formula that leads more and more often to the virtual-online gaming.

The phenomenon of customers constantly connected to online gaming platforms is growing quickly, but it's a double edged sword. In fact, if on one hand, online gaming allows the access to a wider audience of customers, on the other hand it might develop some behavioral risks, related to the involved psychological sphere, to the unlimited access to the game and the use of credit cards, potentially devastating.

The future challenge for the world of gaming is being able to make online and traditional offline spheres complementary rather than concurrent, satisfying customer requirements, without forgetting the valuable role of mediation and guidance that lottery shops should maintain.

These meeting places convey an added value to gaming, personalizing the experience of every customer through a constant human relationship. Everyone is looking for something special in gaming, often the realization of a dream, and the social aspect of a place where these hopes are shared should not be underestimated.

Custom SpA Gaming division applies cutting edge technologies to provide new generation systems for the lottery shops all around the world! Making services more accessible, immediate and engaging is the key to meet the needs of the customers, building loyalty, and trigger a new gaming dimension for the coexistence of both online and offline services.