New Italian Gambling Regulations Approved in 2024

The iGaming industry continues to grow and improve regarding safety and regulated gameplay. In various regions, authorities are shifting to revamp or add regulatory frameworks to manage the market.

A brand-new law framework has been approved, and new Italian gambling regulations are now in place for online play.

Green Light for Italian Gambling Reorganisation Decree

With the government approval of the Reorganisation Decree, this will be the first changes brought into the Italian market since its launch in 2011.

On the 2^nd of January 2024, it was revealed that the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Reorganisation Decree proposal had been approved. The decree focuses on launching regulatory evaluation of the iGambling regulations and has various plans in place focused on protecting residents. This includes plans not just for protecting players but also minors. The objective is to increase social initiatives and tax revenue while combatting criminal activity.

With this new decree’s terms, Italy will be adopting a licensing framework where applicants will have to pay set authorisation fees for online gambling licenses and operating fees of 3%.

On top of that, all future operators will have to pay an annual 0.2% fee of their net revenues. This charge will help fund responsible gambling initiatives by the new gambling department, which will report to Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency, ADM.

All the groups operating in the Italian market will be limited to five licenses per company/group. The objective of the MEF is to reduce the total number of ‘skin websites’ owned by the same groups or companies. This includes big companies like Flutter, Entain, and Lottomatica.

Italian Gambling Laws Met with Criticism

The new proposal for the degree is met with criticism by Logico, the online gambling trade body in Italy. It shared a warning in terms of the high increase in licensing fees, which jumped from €200,000 to a staggering €7 million.

Logico and another trade body, Acadia, warn against the authorisation of the Reorganisation Decree if there is no consideration of the gambling industry’s insight on the planned changes.

Despite industry warnings, the government expects a minimum of 50 operators to apply for the new concession. This is over half of the country’s existing operators, which is currently totalled at 83.

Treasure Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo will oversee the government’s regulatory gambling restructuring. Leo is in support of the decree and believes it will put an end to legal disputes regarding licensing extensions.

The new framework has received the support of High Court judges who are eager to fight the backlog of legal challenges from operators who are challenging the existing concessions. The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also endorsed the reorganisation of online and land-based verticals. According to Meloni, the sector is a key contributor to the economy and raised €11 billion in tax revenues in 2022.

Italian Gambling FAQs

✋ Are there any licensing limitations for Italian casinos?

Yes, all groups/companies will be limited to a maximum of 5 licenses under the new decree.

💰 What costs will be applied to Italian gambling operators?

Operators in Italy will be charged authorisation fees of up to €7 million and 0.3% in operating fees.

💸 Are there annual fees attached to Italy’s gambling laws?

The gambling companies in Italy will have to pay 0.2% of their net revenues annually.