The Italian government has been working for several years to structure a regulatory framework that is adequate to the changes that have occurred in the gambling and betting sector. This continuous work, which is also integrated with multiple entities among themselves, is done to promote a safe environment, where you can have fun with the right guarantees, eliminating the possibility of scams and illegality.
The path taken so far has shown that all this is possible and that the collaboration between online and physical gaming concessionaires and the Government has already yielded results. The Government has worked in an impactful manner with the 2024 Budget Law and Legislative Decree 41/2024. It has also defined a list of AAMS casinos, which operate in compliance with Italian regulations. This guarantees that these casinos are approved by the Government which guarantees their operation. On the other hand, they are bound in both gaming and promotional offers. They are not bound in this aspect, however, the best non AAMS casinos which have greater freedom of action both on the proposal of games and bonuses. These casinos operate with regular licenses issued by government bodies such as those of Malta or the United Kingdom.
The gaming sector landscape is constantly changing, so regulatory work must take into account both physical locations, where Lottomatica, Sisal, SNAI and Sintech operate, which are approximately 60.000 points across the country, physical casinos and online platforms. The current trend sees an increase in attendance at online platforms. This is because playing online on a platform is possible anywhere with your device, which can be a computer, tablet or PC. Faced with a new panorama, with different habits on the part of users, the work on regulations is oriented towards developing these aspects:
- Operations in compliance with legality and safety
- Guaranteed management of people's private data
- The security of economic transactions
- Managing and containing compulsive behaviors by gamblers
The analysis and regulation of these aspects are of common interest for both the Government and the concessionaires. The other side of the coin is given by the fact that often, It takes a long time to create laws in Italy. This is in contrast with the technologies implemented by dealers, to create both a more varied offering but also better services.
Often bureaucratic slowness slows down the development process of platforms, which like any digital platform, keeps up with the times: this problem does not concern, for example, non-AAMS casinos which, from this point of view, have more freedom of action.
Although there is interest from both the dealers and the Government to collaborate in defining a complete panorama, however, there are some points on which the two players in the game cannot find an agreement: this aspect is taxation. The tax pressure is becoming very strong on this sector by the Government. The clampdown had already started with the 2024 Budget Law and there will be a further tightening with the Budget Law 2025. The gambling sector has seen growing revenues with 136 billion euros in 2024 and a forecast of 249 billion euros in 2028. Despite these figures, tax pressure is a problem for all operators, both physical and online.
In fact, we must start from the assumption that they are companies with their own profit and loss account and margin objectives. If they want to offer safe, cutting-edge and fun services, they must have capital to implement various aspects. Too high a tax burden erodes the margin and blocks the possibility of investing in improvements: this is why operators and the Government will have to find a mutually advantageous position. Such high taxation could lead operators, especially online ones, to decide not to be included in the AAMS casino list, so as not to be overloaded with costs. This would imply focusing more on an international market, knowing that Italian users can still reach them. Otherwise, they would risk not having capital to develop tools and offers and therefore no longer being particularly competitive.
Article published on 28 February 2025 - 11:10
The article clearly explains the current situation of gambling in Italy. However, there is not enough talk about the negative consequences that excessive taxation could have on concessionaires. We need to think about how this could affect the entire sector.