Italy’s 2025 Budget Law has been signed off by President Sergio Mattarella, incorporating tax adjustments to specific gambling verticals and causing despondency from industry stakeholders.
The Budget, signed through on 9 January, confirmed the decision by the Ministry of Finance (MEF) to extend existing concessions for online gambling licences for an additional tax year.
With the Italian government continuing to reorganise laws related to retail betting, horse racing, bingo and gaming machines, concessions for land-based gambling venues – initially set to expire in December 2024 – have been extended by a further two years.
For iGaming, the extension will allow several operators to maintain their current status for an additional fiscal year before transitioning to a new licence regime. This new regime will impose a €7m authorisation fee and operating fees of 3%.
Following its approval by the European Commission, Italy’s new licence regime was launched on 19 December 2025, with current licence holders required to transition to the new regime by 30 May 2025. This transition will be overseen by ADM, Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency.
The €7m licence fee will be paid in two instalments, with €4m handed over upon award and €3m upon the commencement of operations, which must occur within six months of receiving approval from the ADM.
Italian operators had urged the MEF to provide a grace period for businesses transitioning to the new regime, arguing that the substantial €7m fee for online gambling licences would disproportionately affect small and mid-sized operators.
The MEF extended existing concessions for land-based venues, which it expects will generate over €19m in tax revenue from bingo, €74m from retail betting and €140m from gaming machines.
Tax increases on gambling segments introduced
Despite the positive developments mentioned above, the revised Budget Law also announced revisions to tax adjustments on specific gambling verticals.
For iGaming, gross gaming revenue (GGR) tax rates for sports and virtual betting will increase from 24% to 24.5%. For online casino, bingo, and poker, GGR taxes will increase from 25% to 25.5%.
In total, the government expects to raise €481min new tax revenues in 2025 as a result of these tax adjustments and the transition of online operators to the new regime.
Looking into changes for retail operations, the sports betting tax rate increased from 20% to 20.5%, virtual games rose from 22% to 24.5%, while fixed-odds horse betting experienced a significant reduction, dropping from 43% to 20.5%.
These changes for land-based firms are projected to generate an additional €39m in taxes annually.
A significant reduction in the fixed-odds horse betting tax rate from 47% to 24.5% has also been introduced, aiming to revitalise Italy’s struggling horse racing sector.
Logico, Italy’s gambling trade body, criticised the tax increases targeting both online and land-based operations, warning that operators could decline new concessions due to the €7m fee and the tax adjustments.
Moreno Marasco, President of Logico, explained: “The risk is weakening a sector that is the only bulwark against illegal gambling.”
iGaming Expert insights: The changes to the have been looming for a significant period of time, however they haven’t dampened the appetite of tier-one operators in Italy, Flutter’s recent acquisition of of Gruppo SNAI from Playtech underpinning its desire to grow in the market. On the other hand the newly implemented licensing fee may well be enough to handicap smaller operators from entering the market, leading to a potential dip in Italian entries and competition.
