Italy expects to start a legislative overhaul of land-based betting, progressing on the required to modernise and merge laws, standards and defenses throughout 20 self-governing regions and 110 towns.
Following a near two-years of negotiations with local authorities, Giorgia Meloni's federal government is anticipated to publish a 'draft decree' on new laws applied to the management of gaming device networks. Articles will apply nationally to franchise operators of fruit machine, bingo halls and VLT systems.
As reported by AgiproNews, which has detailed key settlements of the reform to SBC News, the draft decree will be submitted to the Council of Ministers for review and endorsement under Italy's fiscal delegation structure.
Once authorized at cabinet level, the legislation will continue to the Joint State-Regions Conference and pertinent parliamentary committees, with no fixed timeline yet set for implementation.
The extended settlement procedure has been led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), spearheaded by Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo, alongside Roberto Alesse and Mario Lollobrigida, respect of President and Head of Gaming at Italy's Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM) - the agency managing the betting market.
Retail follows online shakeup
Tough negotiations concentrated on reconciling national regulatory consistency with local sensitivities surrounding tax, prospective earnings losses, payment systems and local budgeting impacts.
The land-based reform kinds part of a broader restructuring of Italy's betting framework, which the Meloni federal government intentionally split into separate stages for online and retail gaming.
The very first mandate prioritised the overhaul of Italy's online betting routine, which came into force in November 2025, presenting brand-new licensing, tax and compliance requirements for digital operators.
Attention has actually now shifted to the retail sector, where early signs recommend a substantial rationalisation of Italy's gaming footprint tied closely to consumer security and harm-prevention objectives.
The number of outlets allowed to host fruit machine including bars, tobacconists and gaming halls - is anticipated to fall by around 10%, decreasing the national total to approximately 40,000 areas.
Betting shops will remain capped at 10,000 across the country, while the longstanding distinction between specialised betting stores and "betting corners" within hospitality locations will be eliminated.
Machine numbers will likewise be downsized, with slots predicted to decline from approximately 240,000 units to 200,000, while VLT volumes will be decreased by around 20% - from 55,000 to 46,000 gadgets.
Protection sweep
A central pillar of the reform will be the introduction of an accreditation program managed by the ADM. Licences and franchises will be required to demonstrate compliance with improved standards on gamer protection, gambling damage prevention and robust controls to avoid minor gain access to.
AgiproNews keeps in mind that the guiding concepts of the reform are "the steady rationalisation of the retail network and the conditioning of consumer security throughout all gambling channels."
New minimum range rules from so-called "sensitive places" will likewise be formalised, with accredited locations based on a 100-metre buffer and non-certified outlets to 200 metres.
These zones will consist of secondary schools, addiction treatment centres and medical facility centers - replacing a regulative patchwork that has long differed in between areas.
The draft decree will even more enforce tighter controls on opening hours, mandating daily closure periods of six and a half hours for certified locations and 8 hours for non-certified premises.
Alongside the structural reforms, the federal government is preparing new concession tenders for gaming devices, betting and bingo operations, anticipated to be released by year-end and projected to generate near to EUR2bn in brand-new tax earnings.
Big Beast market
The negotiation duration accompanied a competitive debt consolidation throughout Italy's land-based gaming sector. In 2024, a newly noted Lottomatica reinforced its retail supremacy through the EUR650m acquisition of SKS365, to take control of its +1,100 PlanetWin betting/arcade franchises.
