Italian ministers to consider fixed 1% betting tax

The undersecretary for sports Valentina Vezzali wants a permanent extension of the temporary turnover tax introduced in 2020.

Italy.- Back in 2020, Italy introduced a temporary 0.5 per cent tax on sports betting turnover designed to help boost the recovery of the country’s sports in the wake of Covid-19. Now undersecretary for sports Valentina Vezzali wants to bring in a permanent 1 per cent tax on revenue.

She’s gained the ear of Italy’s fiscal ministries and secured a meeting to examine her proposal with representatives from Italy’s treasury, the Customs and Monopolies Agency, ADM, which regulates gambling, the ministries of Economic Development, Labour Policy, Finance Commission, and the Income Revenue Office.

Italian media reports that there will be another meeting in two weeks’ time, with the ministries to present individual proposals on the tax. It’s reported that a 1 per cent tax on betting revenue would give the treasury an additional €160m in betting duties on top of the €500m it collects through fixed duties of 18 per cent for retail and 22 per cent for online.

The temporary 0.5 per cent betting levy approved for 18 months back in 2020 in Italy’s Covid-19 Revival Decree raised €90m.

The latest figures show annual sports betting, virtual games and horseracing betting turnover of €16bn in Italy. The industry claims that the proposed tax would mean a 10 to 20 per cent drop in revenue, which would cause licensed bookmakers to offer less favourable prices, pushing more players to the black market.

Plans revealed for overhaul of Italian gambling market

In February, the Ministry of Economy and Finance drafted a preliminary reorganisation plan to revamp market safeguards in Italy’s betting market. It came as operators continued to wait for a definitive answer from the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) on licence expirations.

The ministry proposes three key objectives: “minimising problem gambling, terminating black market activities and optimising tax incomes from licensed businesses”.

The plan mentions reducing stake and win limits, but does not go into detail on the amounts or what verticals they would apply to. It also wants to impose a central player registry with which all problem-gambling self-exclusion schemes and licensed operators must integrate