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Italy鈥檚 government has approved a decree for the reorganisation of online gambling, the first step in a reform process that will have an impact on the entire sector.
Treasury deputy minister Maurizio Leo, who is responsible for the reforms, said the online gambling decree provides a general framework to hold a tender and terminate licence extensions, with current concessions expiring on December 31, 2024.
The decree鈥檚 primary objectives are enhanced player protection, especially for minors, combating crime and increasing tax revenue.
The Council of Ministers' approval on Tuesday (December 19) now puts the decree before the Conferenza Unificata (Unified conference of central and regional governments), whose agreement will send the document to a joint parliamentary commission.
The commission鈥檚 green light would send the decree back to the government for final approval and publication in the official gazette, probably within two months.
At the end of the process, the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) will announce a European tender for concessions. Expected revenue from the tender is 鈧350m (鈧250m in 2024 and 鈧100m in 2025), while the fee will bring in new annual revenues of 鈧100m.
According to Treasury estimates, at least 50 operators are expected to apply for a licence, or concession, the one-time cost of which has skyrocketed to 鈧7m ($7.7m), or 28 times the previous cost of 鈧250,000.
Operators will also face an almost tripled annual concession fee of 3 percent.
The government has also included obligations for licensees to pay an annual fee of 0.2 percent of net revenue to fund education and responsible gaming campaigns on topics established by a government commission.
The staggering increase in the cost of a concession is necessary to implement long-standing demands of the ADM to 鈥渆liminate skin websites鈥 and to drastically reduce the number of concessions in Italy鈥檚 online gambling marketplace.
Another provision establishes a registry for retail online top-up agents (PVRs) for gaming accounts, which will generate immediate and direct revenue for the tax authority.
Registration for PVRs is subject to the payment of an annual fee of 鈧200 for the first year and 鈧150 for subsequent years.
According to finance ministry estimates, there could be around 30,000 points of sale ready to start, generating revenue of 鈧6m in 2024 and 鈧4.5m per year thereafter.
A permanent consultative process will also monitor impacts of legal and illegal gambling, such as effects on player health, and propose measures and interventions to the government to counteract problem gambling.
Meanwhile, the fight against illegal gambling will focus on web access and payments.
The ADM and the Guardia di Finanza (Financial Police) will establish procedures for excluding internet gambling products that are "carried out by companies without a concession". Artificial intelligence tools are likely to be employed in this regard.
They will also collaborate with the central bank to prevent payments service providers from performing gambling transactions on behalf of unauthorised foreign operators.
Online operators and payments operators that breach the rules will face fines ranging from 鈧30,000 to 鈧180,000 for each confirmed violation.
This week鈥檚 decree is the latest movement in a wider transformation of Italian gambling regulation and taxation, with parliament giving the green light to tax, tender and player protections for land-based operations in August.
