Italy’s gambling regulator, the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), has announced a new rule requiring all licensed online gambling operators to declare their main...
Italy to launch reforms for land-based gambling
Italy is planning to launch reforms for land-based gambling through a decree covering slot machines, bingo halls, and video lottery terminal systems, to unify 20 regions and 110 municipalities.
The draft decree was prepared after two years of negotiations with local authorities and will be reviewed under Italy’s fiscal delegation framework. If the proposal is approved by the Council of Ministers, it will be sent to the Joint State-Regions Conference and other necessary parliamentary committees.
The concerns were mostly connected to balancing national regulatory uniformity with regional authority over taxation, revenue losses, and local budget impacts.
The draft proposal shows that the number of venues allowed to host slot machines could be reduced by 10%, cutting the total to around 40,000 locations. Betting shops would stay at 10,000, while the distinction between specialist betting shops and betting corners in hospitality venues would be abolished.
Additionally, the number of slot machines could be reduced from 240,000 to 200,000, and video lottery terminals would decrease from 55,000 to 46,000.
A new certification process would be introduced through the reforms to supervise the gambling market, and the Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM) would lead it. Operators looking to receive licenses would have to comply with stricter standards on player protection, gambling-harm prevention, and underage access control.
Opening-hour restrictions may also be applied and will require daily closure periods of six and a half hours for certified locations and eight hours for non-certified ones.
Italy's Ministry of Economy has received 46 applications for new online gambling licenses, each priced at €7 million.This is a major shift from Italy’s previous licensing...
