Sisal has launched a cultural restoration initiative to mark its 80th anniversary, recovering and restoring the first six editions of Sport Italia, the publication that accompanied Italy’s inaugural football pools competition in May 1946.
The Memorie di Carta Project
The “Memorie di Carta” initiative was unveiled at the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense in Milan, developed in partnership with the Botticino Restoration School. It brought together representatives from Italy’s cultural institutions, restoration bodies and the gaming sector around the recovery of Sport Italia, the official publication of the original Totocalcio competition launched on 5 May 1946.
Sisal was founded in 1945 by three Milan journalists, Massimo Della Pergola, Fabio Jegher and Geo Molo, with the goal of creating Italy’s first football betting pool to help fund post-war reconstruction of Italian sport. In May 1946, they launched the first Schedina, the football pools coupon that would evolve into Totocalcio, operated by Sport Italia Società a Responsabilità Limitata.
Alongside products including Totip and SuperEnalotto, Totocalcio became deeply embedded in Italian popular culture. The restoration of Sport Italia is positioned as preserving not only gaming history but a broader documentary record of Italy’s social transformation through football, media and collective participation. The project focuses specifically on the first six editions of the publication, offering a direct window into the commercial and cultural conditions that surrounded the birth of organised football betting in Italy.
Management Commentary
Marco Tiso, Managing Director of Sisal Italy, framed the initiative as a statement of the company’s identity across eight decades.
“This project clearly reflects who we are: for 80 years we have supported the country’s evolution through responsibility and innovation, transforming people’s passions into shared experiences.”
“With the restoration of Sport Italia, we aim to preserve and make accessible a cultural heritage that is part of our shared history, a concrete way to connect memory and the future.”
Tiso described Sport Italia as a significant example of how Sisal has contributed to telling the story of football and sport, helping to establish it as a phenomenon of cultural and social importance.
Institutional Involvement
The event drew contributions from leading Italian conservation bodies: the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, the Central Institute for Restoration, the La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre, and the Central Institute for Archive and Book Pathology. Their participation positioned Memorie di Carta as a collaborative effort across private enterprise, education and cultural institutions rather than a standalone corporate exercise.
The involvement of state and academic conservation bodies is notable. It reflects the extent to which Totocalcio occupies a recognised place in Italy’s cultural record, distinct from its commercial function as a gambling product.
Commercial Context Under Flutter
The 80th anniversary arrives during a strong commercial period for Sisal under Flutter Entertainment’s ownership. In Flutter’s Q1 2026 trading update, Sisal was identified as one of the standout performers within the group’s Southern Europe and Africa portfolio.
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Flutter’s most recent quarterly results had previously identified Southern Europe as a key growth region, with Sisal’s Italian performance a central element of that narrative. The Q1 2026 update reinforces that position heading into the second half of the year.
The Memorie di Carta initiative spans 80 years of Sisal’s presence in Italian life, from the post-war Schedina to a regulated digital market where the brand now holds nearly a third of industry revenue. Whether Flutter will leverage the anniversary for broader brand positioning in Italy remains to be seen, but Sisal’s commercial footing ahead of any such campaign is strong.
