Italy Gambling Laws 2025: Complete Regulatory Guide

Legal Status Summary

Italy operates the largest gambling market in the European Union with €21.0 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2024. The market is regulated by the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), formerly known as AAMS (Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato), under the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Italy's gambling regulatory framework permits licensed operators to offer:

• Online casino games (slots, table games, live dealer games)
• Sports betting (pre-match and live in-play betting)
• Online poker (tournaments and cash games)
• Online bingo
• Skill games (tournaments and competitions)
• Virtual betting (simulated sports and events)

Land-Based Gambling

Land-based gambling is extensively developed in Italy:

• Casinos: Four historic state-licensed casinos (Venice, San Remo, Campione d'Italia, Saint-Vincent)
• Gaming halls and arcades: Extensive network of licensed venues with slot machines (Video Lottery Terminals - VLTs and AWP machines)
• Betting shops: Over 7,000 licensed retail sports betting locations
• Bingo halls: Licensed bingo venues nationwide
• Lotteries: Multiple state lottery products including Lotto, SuperEnalotto, and scratch cards

Italy's gambling culture is deeply embedded, with lottery participation widespread and betting shops (agenzie) common fixtures in cities and towns nationwide.

Regulators & Licensing Model

Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM)

The ADM, part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and headquartered in Rome, oversees all gambling activities in Italy. The ADM's responsibilities include:

• Issuing and supervising gambling licenses and concessions
• Monitoring technical compliance and game fairness
• Enforcing responsible gambling obligations
• Managing the RUA national self-exclusion register
• Coordinating AML/KYC compliance and suspicious transaction reporting
• Taking enforcement action against unlicensed operators
• Blocking unlicensed gambling sites through ISP orders and payment blocking
• Collecting gaming taxes and license fees
• Publishing market data and compliance reports

As of January 2025, the ADM oversees approximately 120 licensed online gambling operators across various product categories following the new licensing round.

2025 Licensing Reform

The new nine-year licensing regime introduced in 2025 represents the most significant reform of Italian online gambling regulation in over a decade:

License Fees

• Initial license fee: €7 million per nine-year license, payable upfront
• Annual net revenue tax: 3% of net revenue in addition to gross gaming revenue taxes
• Supervision fees: Ongoing costs for regulatory oversight

The €7 million license fee is the highest in the European Union, reflecting Italy's market size and profitability. The high fee creates significant barriers to entry, effectively consolidating the market among well-capitalized operators.

Licensing Requirements

Operators seeking an Italian gambling license must demonstrate:

• Financial capacity: Proof of funds to pay the €7 million license fee plus adequate operational capital, financial guarantees, and segregated player funds
• Legal establishment: Company registration in Italy or another EU jurisdiction with Italian tax compliance
• Technical compliance: Gaming systems certified by accredited testing laboratories; servers located in Italy or approved EU jurisdictions with real-time ADM monitoring access
• RUA integration: Mandatory connection to national self-exclusion register with real-time verification
• Responsible gambling: Comprehensive player protection programs including deposit limits, session limits, self-assessment tools, and intervention protocols
• Data protection: GDPR compliance and secure data storage within the EU
• AML/KYC: Robust customer verification at registration, transaction monitoring, enhanced due diligence for high-value transactions, and suspicious activity reporting
• Advertising compliance: Adherence to Dignity Decree advertising restrictions

Product-Specific Licenses

Italian licenses are product-specific, requiring separate authorizations for different gambling verticals:

• Sports betting (scommesse sportive)
• Casino games (giochi di casinò)
• Poker (poker)
• Bingo (bingo)
• Skill games (giochi di abilità)

Operators seeking to offer multiple product types must obtain corresponding licenses and pay applicable fees.

What's Allowed

Online Gambling Products

Product-Specific Restrictions

Sports Betting: Live in-play betting is fully permitted. Betting on match-fixing-prone markets may be restricted. The ADM coordinates with sports integrity organizations to monitor suspicious betting patterns.

Online Poker: Italy participates in shared liquidity agreements with Spain, France, and Portugal, allowing licensed operators to pool players across these jurisdictions for tournaments and cash games. This significantly increases player pools and prize money.

Casino Games: Comprehensive range of casino games permitted, including slots, table games, and live dealer products. No specific restrictions on stake sizes or game speeds beyond general responsible gambling requirements.

Player Legality

Italian residents aged 18 or older may legally participate in online gambling through ADM-licensed operators. Players face no criminal penalties for using licensed services.

Taxation of Winnings

Gambling winnings in Italy are generally not subject to income tax for recreational players. However, professional gamblers may be subject to taxation on winnings as business income. Operators withhold taxes on certain large prizes as required by Italian tax law.

Unlicensed Operators

Playing on unlicensed platforms is not explicitly criminalized for players, but the ADM actively discourages such activity through extensive blocking measures. Players using unlicensed operators lack consumer protection recourse and may face loss of funds without legal remedies.

Cross-Border Play

Italy takes a strict enforcement position against operators offering services to Italian residents without ADM licenses. While EU freedom of service provisions theoretically allow cross-border gambling, Italy enforces its licensing requirement aggressively through payment and domain blocking.

Advertising & Affiliate Rules

Italy imposes comprehensive gambling advertising restrictions under the Dignity Decree (Decreto Dignità), enacted in 2018 and subsequently strengthened.

General Advertising Ban

The Dignity Decree establishes a general prohibition on gambling advertising across multiple media:

• Television and radio: Comprehensive ban on gambling advertising
• Print media: Newspapers, magazines, and publications prohibited from carrying gambling ads
• Online: Strict restrictions on digital advertising, including websites, social media, and search engines
• Outdoor advertising: Billboards, public transport, and other outdoor media prohibited
• Sponsorships: Heavily restricted; limited exceptions for major sporting events under strict conditions

Limited Exceptions

Narrow exceptions to the advertising ban include:

• Major sporting event sponsorships: Serie A football, major international competitions (subject to approval and strict responsible gambling messaging requirements)
• Point-of-sale advertising: Limited advertising at licensed betting shops and gaming venues
• Direct marketing to existing customers: Email and SMS to players who have opted in (no prospecting)

Enforcement

The ADM and Italy's Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) actively enforce advertising restrictions:

• Substantial fines for operators violating advertising prohibitions (ranging from €50,000 to €5 million)
• License suspension or revocation for repeated violations
• Blocking orders for media outlets carrying unauthorized gambling advertising

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is effectively prohibited under the Dignity Decree's broad advertising restrictions. Traditional affiliate models involving promotional content, bonus advertising, and player acquisition are not permitted. Some operators maintain limited affiliate relationships focused on informational content rather than promotional material, though this remains a gray area with compliance risks.

Payments & Banking Restrictions

Italy enforces comprehensive payment controls as part of its regulatory framework:

Payment Blocking

The ADM coordinates with Italian banks, payment processors, and card networks to block transactions to unlicensed gambling operators. Italy operates one of the most effective payment blocking systems in Europe:

• Real-time screening of gambling-related transactions
• Mandatory blocking by financial institutions
• Inclusion of cryptocurrency exchanges in blocking requirements
• Penalties for payment providers failing to implement blocking measures

Domain Blocking

The ADM maintains an extensive blacklist of unlicensed gambling sites, issuing blocking orders to Italian ISPs. As of January 2025, over 5,000 domains have been blocked, with new sites added regularly through a streamlined administrative process.

Permitted Payment Methods

Licensed operators may accept:

• Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro)
• Bank transfers
• E-wallets and prepaid cards (where compliant with Italian regulations and KYC requirements)
• Italian payment methods (PostePay, Carta Si)

All payment methods must support identity verification, transaction monitoring, and integration with Italian banking systems for tax and AML compliance.

Enforcement & Penalties

The ADM employs aggressive enforcement strategies targeting both unlicensed operators and non-compliant licensed entities.

Actions Against Unlicensed Operators

• Payment blocking: Comprehensive blocking of financial transactions to blacklisted operators
• Domain blocking: ISP-level blocking preventing Italian players from accessing unlicensed sites
• Search engine de-listing: Removal of unlicensed operators from Italian search results
• Criminal prosecution: Serious cases referred to prosecutors for criminal charges, including potential imprisonment for operators
• International cooperation: Coordination with other EU regulators and law enforcement agencies

Penalties for Licensed Operators

The ADM has issued substantial penalties for compliance violations:

• Fines ranging from €100,000 to €10 million depending on violation severity and operator revenue
• License suspension for serious violations
• License revocation for systemic non-compliance
• Public warnings damaging operator reputation

Notable enforcement areas include:

• Advertising violations under the Dignity Decree (multiple multi-million euro fines)
• AML/KYC deficiencies (substantial penalties for inadequate customer verification)
• RUA self-exclusion failures (accepting play from excluded individuals)
• Technical compliance breaches (unauthorized software, unfair games)

Responsible Gambling Tools & Self-Exclusion

Registro Unico degli Autoesclusi (RUA)

The RUA is Italy's mandatory centralized self-exclusion register, operational since 2018. Managed by the ADM, the RUA allows individuals to self-exclude from:

• All ADM-licensed online gambling platforms
• Land-based casinos
• Betting shops
• Gaming halls and arcades
• Bingo halls

RUA registration can be:

• Voluntary: Individuals self-register online through the ADM portal or at physical locations
• Third-party requests: Family members or guardians can petition for inclusion (subject to approval)

Exclusion periods include:

• Minimum 6 months: Shortest voluntary exclusion period
• Extended periods: 1 year, 3 years, 5 years
• Indefinite: Permanent exclusion requiring formal application to lift after minimum period

All licensed operators must check RUA in real-time before allowing account registration and regularly during gameplay. Violations result in immediate substantial fines (minimum €50,000) and potential license revocation.

Mandatory Responsible Gambling Features

ADM-licensed operators must implement:

• Deposit limits: Mandatory limits that players must set at account opening; increases subject to cooling-off periods (typically 72 hours)
• Loss limits: Daily, weekly, and monthly loss caps
• Session limits: Time-based limits with automatic logout
• Reality checks: Mandatory notifications at regular intervals (typically every 60 minutes) showing time elapsed and money spent
• Panic button: Immediate self-exclusion option prominently displayed on all pages
• Cool-off periods: Temporary account suspensions (24 hours to 6 months)
• Self-assessment tools: Questionnaires helping players evaluate gambling behavior
• Player monitoring: Algorithmic detection of problem gambling indicators with mandatory interventions

Problem Gambling Resources

Italy maintains extensive support infrastructure for problem gambling:

• National Problem Gambling Helpline: 800 55 88 22 (toll-free); confidential support
• Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (National Health Service): Specialized gambling addiction treatment centers (SerD - Servizi per le Dipendenze) in every region
• GIOCARESPONSABILE.it: Educational resources and self-help tools
• Regional support programs: Counseling and treatment funded through gambling taxes

CS2 / Skin Gambling Notes

Italy's approach to CS2 skin gambling and esports betting reflects its strict gambling regulatory framework and aggressive enforcement posture.

Esports Betting

Betting on esports matches through ADM-licensed sports betting operators is fully legal and regulated. Italy is one of the leading European markets for esports betting, with licensed operators offering extensive markets on Counter-Strike tournaments, League of Legends, Dota 2, Valorant, and other competitive games.

Esports betting is subject to the same regulatory requirements as traditional sports betting, including integrity monitoring, age verification, and responsible gambling obligations.

Skin Gambling

Third-party skin gambling platforms—where players wager CS2 skins on casino-style games or match outcomes—face severe regulatory and legal risks in Italy:

• Unlicensed gambling offense: Operating skin gambling services targeting Italian players without ADM authorization constitutes a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment and substantial fines
• Payment and domain blocking: The ADM includes known skin gambling sites in its blacklist, subject to comprehensive payment blocking and ISP-level domain blocking
• Criminal prosecution risk: Italy has criminally prosecuted operators of unlicensed gambling platforms, including those operating from outside Italy
• Youth protection: Skin gambling platforms' lack of age verification creates particular concern given Italy's strong youth protection policies

Italy's aggressive enforcement approach extends to skin gambling platforms, with multiple sites blocked and operators facing criminal investigation. Italian authorities coordinate with international law enforcement agencies to pursue operators based outside Italy.

Loot Boxes

Italy has not formally classified loot boxes as gambling, but the issue has received significant attention from consumer protection authorities and parliament members. Several legislative proposals to regulate loot boxes have been introduced, focusing on:

• Mandatory disclosure of odds
• Age restrictions for games with loot boxes
• Potential licensing requirements for publishers

The ADM has studied loot boxes and expressed concern about gambling-like mechanics in games marketed to minors. Italy supports EU-level coordination on loot box regulation.

Sources & Further Reading

This guide is compiled from official regulatory sources, industry reports, and legal analyses. For the most current information, consult:

• Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM): www.adm.gov.it – Official regulator website with licensing information, compliance guidelines, market data, and enforcement updates (Italian/English)
• Dignity Decree (Decreto Dignità): Law Decree 87/2018, converted into Law 96/2018
• RUA Self-Exclusion Portal: Registration through ADM website
• National Problem Gambling Helpline: 800 55 88 22
• GIOCARESPONSABILE.it: www.giocaresponsabile.it – Responsible gambling resources
• European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA): Industry data and policy analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: January 2025