Italian Legislation on Online Betting and Gambling
Online betting and gambling are subject, in Italy, to laws and regulations that guarantee a safe and conscious gaming experience
Online gambling is now a widespread phenomenon also in Italy, where in recent years there has been a steady growth in game volume, reaching over 70 billion euro played on online betting, slot machines, online casino games and the like.
To make the online gambling industry safe and transparent at all times, the Italian Government issued special laws and regulations governing this market, also through the Customs and Monopolies Agency.
In particular, among the main objectives pursued by the Italian legislation on online betting and gambling is to provide the player with the information for a conscious gaming experience through authorised platforms, both with regard to the chances of winning and the risk of incurring diseases such as gambling addiction.
The online gambling laws, moreover, set the requirements to be met by operators who want to launch their own gaming platform on the market.
Such provisions are necessary to ensure that online betting and gambling are managed according to the rules and in total transparency: this allows the Government, on the one hand, to protect citizens and obtain the tax revenue owed by gambling companies, and on the other hand, to fight against the phenomenon of illegal gambling.
Online Betting: The Laws in Force
On this issue, one of the most important pieces of legislation is certainly Ministerial Decree No. 145 of 1 August 2022, issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which repealed and replaced Ministerial Decree No. 111 of 1 March 2006, and which contains the regulation of fixed odds betting on sports events, with the definition of the general rules for online gambling.
In particular, Ministerial Decree No. 145/22 (which refers to special regulations adopted by the Customs and Monopolies Agency for the identification of the requirements to be met by operators licensed to provide the service) lays down precise rules regarding the validity of the bets (Article 6), the cases in which the player is entitled to a refund (Article 7), the criteria for determining winnings and bonuses allowed (Articles 10 and 11), taxes due and maximum winnings.
With regard to the latter issue, Article 14 of the aforementioned decree provides that “the acceptance of fixed odds bets whose potential winnings exceed fifty thousand euro is not allowed”.
Regarding online sports betting, it should also be mentioned that the so-called Dignity Decree (it. “Decreto Dignità”), Legislative Decree No. 87 of 2018, expressly banned the advertising of online betting sites, in order to protect consumers from the risks associated with gambling addiction.
The Regulation of Online Gambling in Italy
As for the Regulation of online gambling, mention should be made of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Decree of 10 January 2011, which identifies the rules on remote skill games and games of chance as well as card games.
This measure, in the wake of Legislative Decree No. 496/48, which reserves to the Government the activities of organising and exercising games and betting, provides for the general rules on how to play games, with or without jackpots, recalling the provisions of the Customs and Monopolies Agency’s regarding the gaming account required by the user to participate in the various games on each platform.
The aforementioned decree also lays down important provisions to protect players, both with regard to the anonymous processing of their personal data, and with regard to the licensed operators’ information obligations to them. Article 10 of the aforementioned decree, moreover, expressly provides that it must be the operator itself to promote responsible gaming behaviour on the part of the user, through specific communications on the platform.
Finally, on the subject of online betting and gambling legislation, it should be noted that with Art. 15 of Law No. 111 of 9 August 2023, the Government was delegated to implement the reorganization of existing provisions on public games, including remote ones.
