The Italian Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM) confirmed that it okayed 46 online applicants' gambling operator licenses.
Italy fully legalized online gambling in 2011 and has one of Europe's most developed mobile marketplaces.
Key takeaways
- Italy increased its license application fee by 35x.
- Approved applicants will be able to launch in March 2026.
- The government may remove a prohibition on gambling advertising.
The recent batch of approvals included several prominent companies.
Betfair, Snaitech, and Sisal, all authorized, are owned by Flutter Entertainment, which also owns FanDuel. Flutter recently purchased Snaitech in April.
Betfair, bet365, Marathonbet, William Hill, and LeoVegas were also applicants who received approval. The next step for every legalized operator is to pay €7 million ($8.2 million) to the Ministry of Economy, resulting in €322 million ($376.4 million) in funding once all 46 payments are completed.
Every vertical, even if the same brand owns it, must submit the application fee.
Italy’s old gaming regulations only charged €200,000 ($233,768) per license application, which would have resulted in €9.2 million ($10.8 million) for 46 applications. That means the government will receive 35 times more than it previously would have.
Preparing for launch
Current Italian license holders may continue offering gambling services until March 2026. Once that timeline expires, only companies that received fresh licensing approval will be allowed to offer platforms to customers.
The ADM will execute its final overviews of approved applicants over the coming weeks before officially sending off the licenses with a September target. Operators then have six months to prepare themselves before they can launch.
Although operators had to fork over a pretty penny for license applications, the fee may have driven potential competitors out of the market. 93 operators applied and 81 were approved for a license back in 2018.
Approved operators are also on the hook for 24.5% of their online sports betting and 25.5% of their online casino gross gaming revenue (GGR). Additionally, they need to pay 3% of their annual GGR and spend at least 0.2% but not more than €1 million ($1.2 million) on responsible gaming efforts.
Sweeping reforms
Italian officials are also changing other areas of their gambling industry.
They'll revisit guidelines the Dignity Decree imposed, a controversial set of rules introduced in 2018 that outlawed gambling advertising. The government already established a committee to collaborate with Serie A, Italian media officials, and Italy’s Olympic Committee to draft regulations for gambling sponsorship and advertising deals.
Platforms will also roll out responsible gambling features such as deposit limits, playing time monitors, and self-exclusion lists.
