1 Italy Sets next Stage of Gambling Overhaul With Retail Revisions

Ruby Madrigal edited this page 2026-04-29 03:33:35 +08:00

Italy anticipates to start a legislative overhaul of land-based betting, moving on on the mandate to modernise and unify laws, requirements and defenses throughout 20 autonomous areas and 110 towns.

Following a near two-years of settlements with local authorities, Giorgia Meloni's government is anticipated to release a 'draft decree' on new laws applied to the management of gaming machine networks. Articles will apply nationally to franchise operators of slots, bingo halls and VLT systems.

As reported by AgiproNews, which has detailed key settlements of the reform to SBC News, the draft decree will be sent to the Council of Ministers for evaluation and recommendation under Italy's fiscal delegation structure.

Once approved at cabinet level, the legislation will continue to the Joint State-Regions Conference and appropriate parliamentary committees, without any fixed timeline yet set for implementation.

The prolonged settlement process has been led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), spearheaded by Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo, alongside Roberto Alesse and Mario Lollobrigida, respect of President and Head of Gaming at Italy's Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM) - the agency overseeing the betting market.

Retail follows online shakeup

Tough settlements focused on reconciling nationwide regulatory consistency with local level of sensitivities surrounding tax, prospective revenue losses, compensation mechanisms and local budgeting effects.

The land-based reform kinds part of a broader restructuring of Italy's betting framework, which the Meloni government intentionally split into separate phases for online and retail gambling.

The first mandate prioritised the overhaul of Italy's online gaming program, which entered force in November 2025, introducing new licensing, tax and compliance requirements for digital operators.

Attention has now shifted to the retail sector, where early indicators recommend a significant rationalisation of Italy's gambling footprint tied carefully to customer defense and harm-prevention goals.

The variety of outlets permitted to host slot devices including bars, tobacconists and gaming halls - is anticipated to fall by around 10%, minimizing the national total to roughly 40,000 locations.

Betting shops will remain capped at 10,000 nationwide, while the longstanding distinction in between specialised wagering stores and "betting corners" within hospitality places will be abolished.

Machine numbers will likewise be downsized, with slots projected to decline from approximately 240,000 units to 200,000, while VLT volumes will be lowered by around 20% - from 55,000 to 46,000 gadgets.

Protection sweep

A main pillar of the reform will be the intro of an accreditation regime supervised by the ADM. Licences and franchises will be required to demonstrate compliance with boosted requirements on gamer defense, gambling harm avoidance and robust controls to prevent underage gain access to.

AgiproNews notes that the assisting principles of the reform are "the steady rationalisation of the retail network and the fortifying of customer defense throughout all betting channels."

New minimum range guidelines from so-called "sensitive areas" will likewise be formalised, with licensed venues subject to a 100-metre buffer and non-certified outlets to 200 metres.

These zones will include secondary schools, dependency treatment centres and healthcare facility centers - changing a regulative patchwork that has long differed in between regions.

The draft decree will even more enforce tighter controls on opening hours, mandating day-to-day closure durations of 6 and a half hours for accredited locations and eight hours for non-certified facilities.

Alongside the structural reforms, the federal government is preparing new concession tenders for gaming devices, betting and bingo operations, anticipated to be released by year-end and predicted to generate near EUR2bn in brand-new tax incomes.

Big Beast market

The negotiation duration coincided with a competitive consolidation throughout Italy's land-based gambling sector. In 2024, a newly listed Lottomatica enhanced its retail supremacy through the EUR650m acquisition of SKS365, to take control of its +1,100 PlanetWin betting/.