The 4H View: Everything you need to know about Italy

EGR has partnered with 4H Agency to bring its readers a series of long-form articles on the requirements and key facts and figures for a host of emerging markets throughout the world.

Tapping into 4H’s talent pool of experts, the articles will outline the regulatory framework and entry requirements for interested parties, as well as an insider’s view on how the market could shape up in the coming years.

Here, the series continues with Italy, with commentary from 4H partner and head of consulting department, Ivan Kurochkin

Market overview

Italy’s gambling market is one of the oldest and most structured in Europe. Public gaming dates back to the Renaissance, when lotteries were used to finance state projects, gradually embedding gambling into the country’s fiscal system. Over time, gambling evolved under strong government control, culminating in the modern concession framework in 1991.

The digital era brought significant transformation. Italy introduced concession-based licensing allowing private operators to enter the online gambling and sports betting segments under strict state supervision. Today, the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) oversees licensing, compliance and enforcement at national level, while land-based verticals remain subject to additional territorial and structural complexities. Recent reforms have focused on modernising the concession regime, tightening compliance standards and reorganising parts of the retail market.

With a population of approximately 58.9 million and a GDP of around $2.37trn in 2024, Italy represents one of Europe’s largest economies. Total market’s GGR reached roughly $25.1bn in 2024, confirming the country’s position as a major regulated gambling market. Italy today combines high market volume with a tightly controlled licensing structure, offering stability but requiring careful navigation of its layered regulatory framework.

Regulations

Italy regulates all gambling verticals through a tender-based system. To obtain a licence – locally referred to as a concession – an operator must wait for a public tender and submit an application within that procedure. While the online gambling tender was completed recently, new tenders for land-based sports betting have not been conducted for many years, with existing concession holders repeatedly receiving statutory extensions under their original terms.

Land-based casinos and slot machines are regulated under a complex and partly outdated framework that varies across Italy’s 20 regions and numerous municipalities, creating significant territorial fragmentation and, in practice, entrenching incumbent operators under local licensing regimes.

Therefore, Italian regulator ADM issues following types of licences via tender procedure:

• Online gambling (for online sports betting and online casino games).
• Land-based casino.
• Land-based sports betting (on sport and social events; racing is regulated separately).
• Slot machines network.
• Lotteries.

B2B providers are not directly licensed in Italy. However, online licensees are required to disclose their technology and service providers to the regulator and ensure that all systems comply with ADM technical and regulatory standards.

Licence requirements

Online gamblingis one of the most liberalised and accessible segments of the Italian gambling market. Although market entry is strictly tied to a public tender procedure, the regulatory framework is detailed, transparent and aligned with European standards. Any private operator meeting the qualification requirements may participate in the tender process and apply for a concession.

General requirements for online gambling operators include:

• Be incorporated as a capital company with a registered office in an EEA country before the concession is granted and the related agreement is signed.
• Have proven experience and good standing in managing and collecting gambling activities, including online, in an EEA country under a valid licence.
• Generate at least ~$3.5m in total revenue from such activities over the last two financial years before applying.
• Demonstrate adequate technical and infrastructural capacity, including compliance with minimum environmental, social, innovation and cybersecurity standards. These requirements must be certified by an independent third party.
• Meet financial solidity requirements as defined in the tender notice.
• Hold additional certifications required in the tender, including: quality management certifications compliant with European standards, corporate social responsibility certifications, security and responsible gaming system certifications.
• Disclose to the ADM the identity of any natural or legal person holding more than 2% of the company’s capital or assets, directly or indirectly.
• Submit a certified investment plan demonstrating sustainability over the duration of the concession.
• Commit to implementing measures to prevent gambling addiction, subject to prior ADM evaluation.
• Commit, if awarded the concession, to provide a financial guarantee in favour of the ADM under the conditions defined in the procedure.
• Ensure that technological infrastructure, including servers, dedicated to concession activities is located in an EEA country.
• Activate, subject to ADN authorisation, a national top-level domain website directly owned and managed by the concessionaire. The website and gaming offer cannot be made available to third parties, even within the same corporate group. The concessionaire’s logo or trademark must be clearly displayed. Absence of branding may result in suspension or termination of the concession.
• A maximum of five concessions may be requested by a single corporate group.

Although land-based betting operates under a concession-based system and, in principle, requires allocation through a public tender, no new comprehensive tender has been conducted for many years. Existing land-based betting concessions have instead been repeatedly extended by legislative measures. As a result, it is unclear in practical terms whether the vertical can currently be considered effectively open or functionally closed to new entrants.

Unlike the online gambling segment, where regulatory requirements are publicly codified and regularly updated, the core commercial and operational conditions for retail betting are defined within the specific tender documentation governing each concession cycle. In the absence of a newly published tender framework, there is no active set of updated entry conditions comparable to the transparent regime currently applicable to online gambling.

The Italian land-based casino model is exceptional in several respects:

• There is no open, recurring national tender system for new casino licences.
• The number of casinos is fixed and historically limited.
• Casinos operate as location-specific concessions rather than as transferable national licences.
• Municipal financial stability has often been directly linked to casino revenues.
• The regulatory regime reflects historical authorisation rather than a modern competitive licensing framework.

Only a very limited number of cities are authorised to host casinos. The casino is typically operated under a concession granted to, or strongly linked with, the municipality itself. Where applicable, core operational requirements – including duration, economic terms and compliance obligations – are defined at national level through the relevant concession framework.

Forland-based slot machines, it is important to understand local definitions and types of such machines. There are:

• AWP machines – “Amusement with Prize”, with limited stakes and limited payouts, which are subject to statutory caps on maximum bet and maximum win and may be installed in bars, tobacconists, betting shops and other authorised commercial premises.
• VLT machines – “Video Lottery Terminals”, with higher stakes and higher payouts, connected to a centralised gaming server managed by a licensed operator. They may only be installed in specialised gaming halls or licensed casinos.

Overall requirements for slot machines operators include the following:

• Slot machines may operate only if connected to the centralised state-controlled telematic network managed by licensed network operators.
• Each machine must obtain prior technical certification and a specific authorization issued through the ADM system.
• Machines must comply with approved technical specifications, payout limits and security standards.
• All transactions are electronically recorded and transmitted to the central system for fiscal and regulatory monitoring.

It must be noted that slot machine regulation in Italy is complex and multi-layered. The state does not grant concessions for individual machines. Instead, it grants concessions for the management of the national telematic network to licensed network concessionaires. Individual operators – such as gaming hall owners or commercial establishments – operate slot machines under commercial agreements with authorised network concessionaires.

While the core economic and technical framework is regulated at national level, territorial and social safeguards are largely determined by regional and municipal authorities. In particular, regions and municipalities regulate:

• Minimum distance requirements between gaming venues and “sensitive places” such as schools, religious institutions, youth facilities, sports centres and healthcare establishments.
• Daily operating hours and mandatory shutdown periods.
• Local zoning and urban planning restrictions for gaming halls.
• Additional administrative conditions for premises authorisation under public security rules.

There is no single uniform national distance standard; requirements vary depending on the regional legislation and municipal implementing measures.

National lottery games (such as Lotto and SuperEnalotto) are managed by a single concessionaire at a time. Only one operator is appointed per lottery vertical, creating a de facto exclusive market position during the concession term, which typically runs for a fixed multi-year period (eg nine years), after which a new tender may be launched.

Licence cost and term

Online gambling – nine years, with no direct prolongation.

The cost includes the following:

• One-off fee of ~$8.2m per concession, with ~$4.7m upon award and ~$3.5m upon operational launch, which must occur within six months of issuance.
• Annual fee equal to 3% of the concessionaire’s GGR – paid in two installments (January and July each year)
• Licensee also must invest 0.2% of GGR in responsible gaming communication.

Additional financial obligations are introduced through the tender procedure and may vary depending on the specific concession cycle. However, according to the most recent online gambling tender, the financial obligations were structured as follows:

• ~$3.5m mandatory turnover for the last two years.
• ~$2.3m minimum share capital.
• ~S$886,000 minimum bank guarantee for each concession.

Thecost and duration of land-based sports betting concessions in Italy are determined within the specific tender documentation governing each concession cycle. However, no new comprehensive betting tender has been conducted for many years, as existing concessions have been repeatedly extended by legislative measures. In the absence of a recently published tender framework, it is not possible to state with certainty the current concession fee, financial structure, or duration that would apply to a new market entrant.

The regulatory and financial conditions of land-based casinos are shaped through specific concession arrangements and strong municipal involvement rather than through an open, recurring national tender system. Given the exceptional and geographically limited nature of this vertical, it is not possible to define a general concession cost or term applicable to new applicants.

As with sports betting, the current slots machine framework is based on legacy concession arrangements that have been extended rather than relaunched through a new tender. Consequently, without a new published procedure, the precise cost and duration of a future concession cannot be definitively determined.

Taxation

Under the general tax regime, the following taxes apply: Corporate income tax at 24%, regional production tax at 3.9%, VAT at 22% and withholding tax at 12.5%.

Responsible gambling and AML

Italy applies one of the most structured responsible gambling frameworks in Europe, combining strict player controls with continuous monitoring and enforcement.

• All players must complete mandatory registration and identity verification before full access is granted. Only one account per player is permitted, each linked to a unique and traceable ID. Minors are strictly prohibited from gambling, and operational limits apply until verification is finalised. Players must set personal deposit limits on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Reductions take effect immediately, while increases are subject to a mandatory cooling-off period. Before full verification, deposits are capped at ~$120.
• Italy operates a national self-exclusion register (RUA), with which all licensed operators must integrate. Accounts listed on the register must be blocked immediately. Players can request temporary suspension or permanent self-exclusion, and re-registration is not allowed during the exclusion period.
• Operators must ensure full transparency for players, including real-time balance display, detailed transaction and betting history, clear information on total stakes and losses, publicly available game rules and RTP, visible 18+ warnings and access to addiction support services.
• Licence holders are required to monitor gambling behavior through dedicated systems designed to detect risk patterns. They must implement a formal responsible gambling policy and apply protective measures when necessary. All limit changes and interventions must be logged and traceable. Marketing to self-excluded or vulnerable players is prohibited.
• Operators must maintain a structured responsible gambling programme, appoint a responsible gambling officer, provide staff training and report compliance data to ADM. Breaches of player protection rules may result in financial penalties, suspension of specific verticals, or, in serious cases, revocation of the concession.

Italy applies a comprehensive AML framework to licensed gambling operators, combining strict identification rules with continuous transaction oversight and regulatory reporting.

• Customer due diligence is mandatory before full account activation. Each player must be identified and verified within the statutory timeframe, and accounts must be suspended if verification is not completed in time. Operators are required to apply ongoing monitoring of customer data and financial activity throughout the relationship. Only one account per individual is permitted, supported by technical systems that prevent duplicate registrations and ensure automatic transmission of account data to ADM systems.
• All deposits, withdrawals and betting activity must be continuously monitored. Operators must detect anomalous or suspicious behavior through automated systems capable of generating alerts for unusual transaction volumes or patterns, while maintaining full traceability of all financial operations. A risk-based approach must be applied to customer profiling, including enhanced due diligence for higher-risk individuals and the ability to request additional documentation regarding the source of funds where necessary.
• Suspicious transactions must be reported to the competent authority (UIF) without delay. Operators must maintain internal escalation procedures, document suspicious activity and retain all related records for the legally required period. Player funds must be segregated from operational funds and held in dedicated accounts with sufficient balances to cover player liabilities.
• Governance obligations include appointing an AML compliance officer, adopting written AML policies and internal procedures, providing staff training on AML and fraud prevention and ensuring periodic internal controls and auditability of AML processes. Non-compliance may result in administrative fines, while serious or repeated violations can lead to suspension or revocation of the concession.

Marketing

Italy applies a near-total ban on advertising and sponsorship of gambling. Operators must not engage in any direct or indirect promotional activity intended to incentivise participation in gambling.

This includes:

• No television, radio, press or online advertising.
• No social media promotion.
• No affiliate marketing structures should be used for promotional purposes.
• No influencer-based promotion.
• No sponsorship of sports teams, events or branded merchandise.

Only strictly informational communications are allowed, e.g. corporate communications that do not contain calls to gamble, neutral information about the existence of a licensed operator or mandatory 18+ labelling and responsible gambling warnings where relevant.

Advertising restrictions are structurally linked to responsible gambling obligations:

• No communication may target self-excluded players.
• No targeting of vulnerable or high-risk individuals.
• No aggressive or misleading messaging.

Market specifics for entry

Italy’s market entry is defined less by demand and more by how the licensing architecture fragments access across verticals and levels of government. Online gambling is structured as national concessions under ADM, with the clearest single-window entry path coming from the recent online reform cycle, while the land-based estate (sports betting points, slot machines distribution and casinos) remains entangled with long-running territorial rules and an unfinished retail reorganisation. This creates an uneven playing field: online has a comparatively transparent national framework, but the land-based side has been running on legacy positions while policymakers debate how to redesign networks, distance rules and tender mechanics.

In practice, operators that already hold Italian licences have a clear advantage in future tenders, as incumbents are generally prioritised over new entrants. Combined with unclear financial requirements, a continuing ban on gambling advertising and a conservative regulatory approach, Italy presents a challenging environment for newcomers.

However, one of the market’s strengths lies in its treatment of B2B providers. Platforms and aggregators are not required to hold local licences but must be disclosed to the regulator by their partner operators. This creates viable opportunities for technology suppliers and content providers to collaborate with licensed operators. Given these conditions, market entry for B2B providers remains the most accessible and attractive path into Italy’s tightly controlled gambling ecosystem.

The 4H view

Italy’s gambling regulation is complex and highly stringent, unlike the broader European regulatory approach.

The recent online gambling concessions went live in November 2025, with 52 licences spread across 46 operators. The licensing model pushed operators toward a single-brand/single-domain structure, rather than multi-skin scale strategies. ADM has also framed the compliance perimeter as increasingly infrastructure-led, including a “shield” project aimed at coordinating enforcement and technical controls with other state and market actors (telecoms, banking, and platform layers). In practice, that means the online channel is not only tender-gated, but also operationally shaped by technical and monitoring requirements that are harder to work around once a brand becomes visible.

Land-based entry is the opposite: structurally important, but politically and institutionally slow. A key feature for entrants is that retail tenders are being discussed as part of a broader retail reform, not as a clean standalone re-licensing exercise. In February 2026, industry and policymakers openly debated the next retail tender design, and industry voices warned that leaked elements of the reform could materially change who can win. The same discussion surfaced concerns that future tenders could lean toward highest-bid allocation and potentially raise concentration thresholds, which would structurally favour consolidation over new entry. This is why the land-based market often feels closed even before you reach formal eligibility criteria: the uncertainty is not only when a tender arrives, but what kind of tender it will be and whether it is designed around continuity for incumbents or contestability for challengers.

Slots (AWP/VLT) add another entry layer because the vertical is split between network concessionaires and point-of-sale operators, making reform more complex than retail betting. The current debate around reducing machine counts, harmonising distance rules and redefining concession models is precisely the kind of multi-stakeholder redesign that tends to produce extensions and transitional regimes rather than a quick retender.

Italy is investable, but the entry strategy depends on choosing the right door – online offers the most defined national pathway (and is already operating under the new regime), while land-based access is shaped by legacy concessions and a reform agenda that could tighten market structure rather than open it.

The post The 4H View: Everything you need to know about Italy first appeared on EGR Intel.

 EGR’s partner 4H Agency delivers its monthly insight into regulated markets’ key requirements. This month, Italy is in the spotlight
The post The 4H View: Everything you need to know about Italy first appeared on EGR Intel.