Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has laid out plans to tackle the country’s illegal gambling market.
As part of the forthcoming Budget Law, the MEF is developing a “cybersecurity shield” to block connections to unauthorised gambling domains on devices with public internet access.
Any business offering public internet access will be required to install the anti-illegality software on devices such as PCs, kiosks and tablets.
The technology is being developed jointly by ADM, Italy’s Customs & Monopolies Agency, and the state-owned tech hub SOGEI.
Non-compliant operators who fail to use the shield will face fines, which will be higher if the devices detect organised access to gambling domains.
Any operator found putting devices in “closed browsing mode” with the clear objective of encouraging gamblers to connect to prohibited sites, reports the Italian gambling news source AgiproNews, may face higher fines or risk criminal charges for illegal betting.
Earlier this month, the ADM issued an order to block 23 unauthorised gambling site domains, pushing the total number of blacklisted domains to 11,481.
Despite these efforts, exposure to the black market remains high in Italy. In 2023, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) estimated that Italy faced around €1bn in illegal activity,
Dignity Decree fuelled illegal gambling engagement
The EGBA cited the Dignity Decree, which banned advertising and sponsorship, as a reason for the size of Italy’s black market.
This sentiment was also shared by Fabio A. Bufalini, Country Director of Stake Italy, who told iGaming Expert that “it’s no coincidence that illegal gambling has grown significantly in recent years”, while the advertising ban has been in place.
He added: “I’m convinced that if [the Dignity Decree was overturned], we as operators should be the first to protect consumers by establishing clear and reliable rules to avoid a return to the previous ban, while also ensuring that advertising is constructive.”
