Regulated

The sources of law for legal public gaming in Italy are the following:

1. European Union legislation, where applicable;
2. National Law (Criminal Code, Civil Code, Consolidated Law on Public Safety, ordinary State laws, regional laws, etc.) and, in particular, Legislative Decree no. 41/2024, which in Article 1 states that “the provisions of this decree constitute the primary regulatory framework for the regulation of public gaming (both online and land-based) permitted in Italy“.
3. The Regulation;
4. Presidential and Ministerial Decrees;
5. Provisions/Determinations of the Customs and Monopolies Agency / A.D.M., if required by law and regulations.

Gambling is defined by Article 721 of Italian Penal Code (I.P.C.) “those games in which the purpose of profit occurs and the win or loss is entirely or almost entirely random“, is prohibited in Italy unless it is authorized by the State or held in authorized gaming houses (casinos). Article 718 I.P.C. punishes with arrest no less than three months and a fine no less than 260 euros “whoever, in a public place or place open to the public, or in private circles of any kind, holds a gambling or facilitates it” (doubled penalty, pursuant to Article 719 of the Criminal Code if the offender has set up or kept a gambling house, if the fact is committed in a public establishment, if large sums are wagered and if there are minors among the participants), art. 720 punishes with the arrest of up to six months or with a fine of up to 516 euros “Anyone who, in a public place or open to the public or in private circles… is caught red-handed while taking part in gambling“, and Art. 723 P.C. punishes with a fine from euro 5 to euro 103 “Anyone, authorized to keep gaming halls, allows non-gambling games which are in any case prohibited by the Authority (see below art. 110 TULPS)“.

The Italian Civil Code distinguishes between merely lawful betting (i.e.: poker, roulette, etc.), for which there’s no legal action for the payment of a gambling or betting debt, even if the gambling or betting is not prohibited unless the debtor proves that he has suffered fraud or he’s incapable (art. 1933) and protected betting, such as horse racing and sports betting (art. 1934) and authorized lotteries (art. 1935), for whose there’s the aforementioned legal action.

The Consolidated Law on Public Safety (TULPS, Royal Decree No. 773/1931, and subsequent amendments) also states rules regarding the licenses for gaming and betting (articles 86 and 88) and entertainment machines (article 110).

Therefore, in Italy for the organization of legal public gaming there’s a “State’s reserve” as per the Legislative Decree No. 496/1948, which in Article 1 established that “the organization and operation of games of skill, betting, and prediction contests, for which a reward of any kind is paid and for which participation requires the payment of a stake in money, are reserved to the State“, and in Article 2 that such activities “are entrusted to the Ministry of Finance, which may manage them either directly or through natural or legal persons who provide adequate guarantees of suitability“.

This reserve is based on the need to safeguard public order and safety, combat organized crime, protect public trust against the risk of fraud, and safeguard minors and vulnerable groups from the uncontrolled, indiscriminate, and unregulated spread of gambling. This reserve is achieved through the LICENSING of the service to a private entity selected on the basis of a public tender regulated by the law and the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM).

The Presidential Decree No. 581/1951 established which games are managed directly by the State and which “through natural or legal persons” designated by the Ministry of Finance (now M.E.F.).

Until the late 1990s, only Totocalcio, Horse Racing betting, Lotto and some national Lotteries were legal in Italy.

Article 3 paragraph 230 law n. 549/1995 (Financial Law 1996), in fact, established that “the organization and exercise of tote and fixed-odds bets reserved to CONI on sports competitions organised or carried out under its control can be entrusted in concession to single or companies operators that offer adequate guarantees” and attributed to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) the power to issue the relative regulations / decrees

With Legislative Decree n. 300/1999, all the responsibilities in the gaming and betting sector have been assigned to the Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies (AAMS, established in 1927, which had already acquired the national lotteries in 1988 and in 1994 the Lotto game and the instant lotteries), subsequently incorporated by Law no. 135/2012 in the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), a public body with legal personality with wide financial, organisational and accounting autonomy.

With Law n. 133/1999 (article 16), Law n. 311/2004 and the subsequent D.M. no. 111/2006 authorized Concessionaires authorized by the AAMS / ADM (on whose site you can find the updated list) the collection of totalizer and fixed-odds betting on sporting events other than horse racing and on non-sporting events.

The Ministerial Decree (D.M.) n.156/2001 attributed to the Ministry of Finance through AAMS (then  ADM) the competence to authorize the licensee to collect  betting by telephone or telematics (online).

Law No. 266/2005 (Financial Law 2006) gave the Customs and Monopolies Agency (A.D.M.) the power to also regulate the Online gaming sector with the consequent prohibition for the unauthorized sites.

The “Bersani Decree” (Law Decree No. 223/2006 converted into Law No. 248/2006) opened the horse racing and sports betting market to all national and foreign operators having certain reliability requirements and introduced the SKILL GAMES (art. 38 paragraph 1 letter B) defined as “remote games with cash winnings, in which the result depends, to a greater extent than the random element, on the skill of the players” (i.e.: Draughts, Chess, Bridge, Poker, Texas Hold’Em, etc), which can only be played on online sites managed by concessionaires authorized by A.D.M.

The Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation was introduced by Legislative Decree no. 231/2007 (amended by Legislative Decree 151/2009, by Legislative Decree no. 90/2017 implementing of EU Directive n. 2015/849 and by Legislative Decree 125/2019 implementing the Fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive no. 2018/843) and concerns all land-based and online gaming and betting operators.

Law no. 88/2009 contains provisions on online gaming and betting:

• Fixed odds and totalizator on sports betting events including simulated ones, on horse racing and other events
• Competitions with sports and horse racing predictions
• National horse racing games
• Skill games
• Fixed odds betting with direct interaction between players
• Online Bingo
• National totaliser number games
• Instant and deferred lotteries

Law no. 158/2012 (“Balduzzi Decree”) contains rules against gambling addiction.

The Ministerial Decree no. 47/2013 regulated remote betting at fixed odds with direct interaction between players (so-called Betting Exchange).

Law Decree n. 87/2018 (“Dignity Decree”) increased the tax on withdrawals from slot machines (AWP) and VLT and banned the advertising of gambling activities, except for some cases.

Decree n.145/2022 issued on 1 August 2022 by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (M.E.F.) and entered into force on 28.10.2022, contains news on the regulation of fixed-odds bets on sporting events other than horse racing and on non-horse racing athletes (see below).

The Legislative Decree n. 41/2024, containing “provisions regarding the reorganization of the gaming sector starting from remote/online gaming” as per the Delegation Law n. 111/2023 and stating as “the primary regulatory framework for the regulation of public gaming permitted in Italy” (Article 1),aims to reform, modernise and consolidate the rules applicable to public gaming – including both remote and land-based offerings that involve cash prizes – by enhancing regulatory control, ensuring greater transparency in financial flows and strengthening the protection of players and introduces further changes to the remote gaming sector.

Market size

In 2024, the total gambling revenue was €157.45 billion, a 6.59% increase compared to the previous year. The G.G.R. was €21.577 billion in 2024, a 4.38% increase compared to the previous year. 2024 saw a slight decrease in tax revenues of 0.6% compared to 2023.

The data indicates a negative change for the AWP and totalizator number games sectors, which saw a slight reduction in gaming volume.

In the virtual betting sector and in the remote skill games sector (casino games, cash games, etc.), however, there was a clear increase in the volume of gaming, with a corresponding increase in tax revenues (respectively +18.14% and +16.73%).

Competitive landscape

According to the Italian legislation, the following land-based and online gaming are considered legal:

1. Fixed-odds and totalizator betting on sporting events, including simulated ones, including horse racing, as well as other non-sporting events (see ADM website);
2. Sports and horse racing betting contests (see ADM website for a list of betting contests);
3. National horse racing games, defined as the totalizator horse racing betting formulas known as winner, pair, three of a kind, quarter, and fifth (see ADM website);
4. Games of skill, i.e., remote public games with cash prizes in which the odds of winning depend primarily on the player’s skill rather than the element of chance (these include tournament and non-tournament card games, such as poker; see ADM website);
5. Fixed-odds betting with direct interaction between players (so-called exchange betting, see below; see the SOGEI protocol on betting with direct interaction);
6. Bingo Online and Bingo halls (see the ADM website);
7. Fixed-odds number games, including fixed-odds games of chance, i.e., solitaire games in which the possible outcomes have a predefined and unchangeable probability of occurring, and the ratio between the potential winnings and the price of participation in the game is known to the player when placing the bet, as in the lottery;
8. National totalizer number games (e.g., SuperEnalotto and others) (information on the ADM website);
9. Instant and deferred draw lotteries (information on the ADM website);
10. Other games played in virtual or digital mode, including through the metaverse, governed by regulations;
11. The National Receipt Lottery referred to in Article 1, paragraphs 540-544, of Law No. 232/2016 (2017 Budget Law), later amended by Article 18, paragraph 4-bis, of L
12. Legislative Decree No. 36/2022 and Article 8 of Legislative Decree 176/2022.
13. Entertainment machines with cash prizes (the so-called AWP/Newslots and VLT pursuant to art. 110 paragraph 6 TULPS) and without cash prizes (art. 110 paragraph 7 TULPS);
14. Land-based and online Casino (see below);
15. Exchange betting;
16. Social gaming;
17. Fantasy sports.
18. Esports, even if even if they are not yet regulated by a specific law.

Furthermore, local events such as lotteries, peaches and charity stand and bingo are legal, if promoted by non-profit organizations, associations, non-profit committees, ONLUS, provided they are necessary for their livelihood or by political parties within the context of local events and raffles are also allowed in the family and private sphere, for recreational purposes. Despite the obvious similarities, these types of games with cash prizes do not constitute gambling according to Italian law and are simply defined as games with cash prizes.

The A.D.M. website lists all the concessionaires authorized to manage the aforementioned public games.

Furthermore, there is the Register of Authorized Operators (RIES, set up with Law No. 266/2005), which contains the list of owners, possessors and holders of the devices and terminals referred to in article 110, paragraph 6, letter a (AWP) and letter b (VLT) T.U.L.P.S. (section A), of the Concessionaires for the management of the telematic network of the entertainment devices and terminals indicated above (section B) and of the other operator/subjects who carry out, on the basis of continuous contractual relationships with the subjects referred to in the same sections, related activities to the aforementioned appliances (section C).

This Register is arranged and renewed annually by the Customs and Monopoly Agency (A.D.M.), subject to verification of the applicants’ possession of specific requirements and conditions, including financial and the payment of a tax of 150,00 euros in addition to the stamp duty of 16,00 euros.

Localisation

PAYMENT METHODS
The payment methods preferred by the Italians are Credit and debit cards VISA Mastercard, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, Paysafecard, Bank Transfer, PostePay and ecoPayz.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, on the other hand, are used as an alternative method by very few operators.

The AWPs machines (Amusement With Price/New Slot, art.110 paragraph 6 letter a TULPS), which can play games containing elements of skill but not poker and work only if connected to the ADM telematic network, have the following characteristics: a) for each game, not exceeding 1 euro, the duration of the game cannot be less than 4 seconds; b) the distribution of the WIN in cash, each of a value not exceeding 100.00 euros, takes place immediately after the conclusion of the game exclusively in coins; c) the WINNINGS, calculated by the machine, in a non-predetermined way, on a total cycle of no more than 140,000 games, must not be less than 75% of the sums played.

The VLTs (art. 110 paragraph 6 letter b, introduced by Law n. 266/2005), gaming terminals based on Served Based Gaming (SBG) connected to a network and a central system, have the following characteristics: a) they can be connected to the Concessionaire’s Gaming System directly, through the Concessionaire’s computer network, or indirectly  through a room server connected to the Gaming System; b) Random Number Generator (RNG), component of the Gaming System which determines, at a central level, the outcome (winning or not) of each single game; c) it is possible to introduce coins (from €. 0.50 to €. 2.00), banknotes (from €. 5.00 to €. 100.00) and paper tickets issued directly from the cash desk in the room (cash desk ) or previously released by other VLTs within the same hall; d) the maximum duration of a ticket, for the purpose of its payment at the cash desk or reintegration into a VLT, is equal to thirty days; e) the bets, for each game, vary from a minimum of €. 0.50 to a maximum of €. 10.00, according to the game chosen; f) the maximum WIN for each game is equal to €. 5,000.00; g) tickets up to €. 5,000.00 are paid directly to the player in the gaming room, in the manner prescribed by current legislation on anti-money laundering, while higher-value tickets will be paid to the player exclusively by the Concessionaire, after validation and booking of the ticket in the gaming room; h) the PAYOUT cannot be less than 85%.

About INSTANT LOTTERIES,on the basis of the agreement between AAMS/ADM and Lotterie Nazionali s.r.l., it is up to the concessionaire to pay for the winning tickets, making use of one or more banking institutions, which ensure the service throughout the national territory. The methods of payment of the prizes are as follows: a) For prizes up to €500, presentation and validation of the ticket and payment at any authorized point of sale; b) For prizes from 501 euros to 10,000 euros, presentation and validation of the ticket at any authorized point of sale, validation of the ticket activates a procedure for booking the winnings and the consequent payment takes place according to the method chosen by the winner (by cashier’s check or by bank transfer bank or post office); c) For prizes over 10,000 euros, by presenting the ticket or by sending it at the risk of the holder, to the Prize Office of the Lotterie Nazionali S.r.l. , which will issue the player with a specific receipt or, alternatively, the ticket can be presented at a bank counter (in this case the Bank collects the ticket, issuing a specific receipt and forwarding it to the concessionaire who will arrange for payment according to the method chosen by the winner).

For all prize ranges, the winnings must be claimed no later than 45 days from the publication in the Official Gazette of the notice of closure of the lottery.

For the INSTANT TELEMATIC LOTTERIES the payment methods are differentiated according to the amount of the winnings and provide for: a) direct credit to the gaming account for winnings of up to 10,000 euros; b) for amounts exceeding €10,000, the winnings are certified by a special commission chaired by the AAMS/ADM and paid to the player by the prize office of the “Lotterie Nazionali S.r.l.” concessionaire. according to the mode chosen by the player.

As regards the LOTTO lottery, the payment of the prize, calculated net of withholding taxes (8%), is paid no later than 30 days from the date of the redemption request.

Regarding the “GRATTA E VINCI” (“SCRATCH AND WIN”) lottery, the payouts are as follows: a) 18% for winnings between 1,000 euros and 10,000 euros; b) 21% for winnings between 10,000 euros and 50,000 euros; c) 23% for winnings between 50 thousand euros and 10 million euros; d) 25% for winnings over 10 million euros.

The BETTING winnings (both “FIXED ODDS” and “TOTALIZER”) can be collected at the agency where the wager was made, by presenting the paper receipt received at the time of the bet. In the case of bets placed in a shop or corner (receptionist’s, bar, tobacconist’s, etc.), any winnings can be collected in any other point of sale belonging to the same concessionaire whose name and identification code are shown on the receipt of the play. For bets made electronically, the crediting of the sums to the bettor’s gaming account takes place automatically as soon as the outcomes of the events are made official. The winning receipt must be presented for collection within 90 calendar days from the date of the most recent event contained in the ticket.

PROMINENT MARKETING/ADVERTISING CHANNELS

The first intervention on the matter was carried out with the Law Decree n. 158/2012 (so-called “Balduzzi Decree”, converted into Law no. 189/2012), which:

1. prohibited the advertising of games with cash prizes on television and radio broadcasts and in the pages of the written press;
2. prohibited advertising messages for games with cash prizes in newspapers, magazines, publications, during television and radio broadcasts, cinematographic and theatrical performances and via the internet, which incite gambling or glorify its practice, which do not warn of the risk of addiction to the practice of the game and which do not clearly show the percentage of probability of winning that the subject has in the single game;
3. it obliged to report the warnings on the risk of gambling addiction and the relative probability of winning on the gaming slips and coupons on prize entertainment machines (A.W.P.), in halls equipped with Video Lottery Terminals (V.L.T.); in points of sale for bets on sporting and non-sporting events and on websites intended to offer games with cash prizes;
4. has provided for the transgressors (both the client of the advertising message and the owner of the means of communication concerned) to impose an administrative fine ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 euros.

With the 2016 Stability Law (Law No. 208/2015) further advertising limitation provisions are approved (Article 1, paragraphs 937-940). In particular, the advertising of games with cash prizes in “generalist” radio and television broadcasts and in those aimed primarily at an audience of minors with the exclusion of specialized media is prohibited.

Finally, the Law Decree n. 87/2018 (so-called Dignity Decree, converted into law no. 96/2018) introduced an absolute ban on advertising for games and bets, including sponsorships and forms of indirect advertising. In particular the art. 9 concerns the prohibition of any form of advertising, even indirect, relating to games or bets with cash prizes, whatever the means used (radio, TV, press, internet, etc.). The following are excluded from the aforementioned prohibition, also on the basis of the Guidelines subsequently issued by the Italian Communications Agency (AGCOM):

1- National lotteries with deferred draws;

2- The lotteries and bingos organized locally for charity and the logos on safe and responsible gaming of the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM);

3- The so-called “lottery of fees”;

4- Communications having “an exclusive descriptive, informative and identifying purpose of the legal game offer, functional to allow an informed choice of game”;

5- The information services for comparing the odds or commercial offers of the various competitors (the so-called “odds spaces”);

6- The “mere display of winnings” made at a point of sale, only if carried out in such a way as not to induce paid gambling;

7- The telesale of goods and paid gaming services authorized with the concession of A.D.M. aimed exclusively at the conclusion of the gaming contract;

8- The promotion of events other than the paid gaming offer that take place within casinos or gaming halls;

9- The distinctive signs of legal gaming (shop signs or online site domains);

10- The logo or reference to gaming services present on the windows of establishments that offer paid gaming;

11- Information limited only to the characteristics of the various gaming products and services offered (odds, jackpots, odds of winning, minimum bets, any bonuses offered);

12- Campaigns and communications relating to corporate social responsibility (CSR);

13- The “mere mention” of the concessionaire as the financier of a given project or charitable initiative;

“B2B” communications;

14- Free algorithm indexing services, provided directly by search engines or marketplaces (Apple Store, Google Play);

15- Use of the brand that identifies, in addition to gaming services with cash or gambling prizes, other activities of an independent nature.

16- Services of comparing odds between bookmakers.

In the event of violation of the law, a fine equal to 20% of the value of the sponsorship or advertising is envisaged, with a minimum amount of 50,000 euros for each violation. AGCOM is responsible for the imposition of sanctions, which flow into the Fund for the fight against pathological gambling.

Top Key Attractions and Challenges

The BETTING winnings (both “FIXED ODDS” and “TOTALIZER”) can be collected at the agency where the wager was made, by presenting the paper receipt received at the time of the bet. In the case of bets placed in a shop or corner (receptionist’s, bar, tobacconist’s, etc.), any winnings can be collected in any other point of sale belonging to the same concessionaire whose name and identification code are shown on the receipt of the play. For bets made electronically, the crediting of the sums to the bettor’s gaming account takes place automatically as soon as the outcomes of the events are made official. The winning receipt must be presented for collection within 90 calendar days from the date of the most recent event contained in the ticket.

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