European Commission opens consultation on Italy’s new online gambling rules

Italy’s regulator expects to open a window for online gambling licence applications in December or January.

Italy.- The European Commission (EC) has opened a consultation on the technical rules for Italy’s proposed new framework for the regulation of online gambling. As is standard for legislative amendments in European Union countries, the process will gather feedback on the impact that the new regulations could have.

The opening of the consultation marks the final phase for the legislative reforms, which are now in a mandatory three-month standstill period until October 18. This is intended to allow other EU member states and stakeholders to review and comment on the proposals.

If there are no major objections in the feedback given, the Italian government plans for the national regulator, the ADM, to open a window for online gambling licence applications in late December 2024 or early January 2025.

The proposals as they stand include a steep hike in the fee for online gambling licences from €200,000 in 2018 to €7m. The Ministry of Finance has justified the increase by saying that the market has significantly changed and is now dominated by major multinational operators. Licences will last nine years, and operators will also pay 3 per cent of annual gross gaming revenue (GGR).

Technical requirements include the obligation to base IT infrastructure, including cloud solutions, within the European Economic Area (EEA), to comply with EU data protection laws and to ensure secure communication with the state IT provider Sogei. Operators must also comply with rules for the use of self-exclusion tools. There will also be a ban on affiliated online websites (skins), but separate apps will be allowed per vertical, including betting, casino games, poker and bingo.

The ADM submitted documentation outlining the rules to the Treasury following the publication of the framework in the parliamentary gazette in April. The framework will be incorporated into Italy’s Decree on the Reorganisation of Gambling, which currently deals with slowly advancing land-based gaming reforms.

Antonio Giuliani, the head of ADM’s online office, said last month: “The Agency will set a D-day for current operators to start collecting bets with the new regime. The others will have up to six months to launch the system, as established by the law. We will guarantee equal conditions for current licensees and new operators who obtain a licence.”