The decree, proposed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and recently approved by the government, represents the first significant regulatory revision since the opening of the gaming market in 2011. Its main focus is on the "protection of players, combating criminal activities, and increasing tax revenues for government and social projects."
This new licensing framework will introduce an authorization fee of seven million euros for each online gambling license, in addition to an operating fee of 3%. Furthermore, operators will be required to pay an annual fee of 0.2% of their net income. These funds will be allocated to Responsible Gambling campaigns, under the supervision of a new Gaming department subordinate to the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency.
In an effort to limit market concentration, a limit of five licenses per operating company will be established. This measure aims to end the practice of "skin websites" that sell products from a single concessionaire, previously questioned by the ADM.
The government anticipates substantial revenues through these licenses and estimates that at least 50 operators will apply for the new concession, with an expectation of 350 million euros in revenue from this process for 2024 and 2025.
However, the decree proposal has raised concerns in the online gaming sector as it would significantly increase standard fees. Trade organizations such as Logico and Acadi have urged the government to consider necessary changes before proceeding with this measure.
Despite the disputes, Deputy Treasury Minister Maurizio Leo applauded the decree's approval, indicating it will end pending disputes related to gaming licenses.
Additionally, a series of measures are proposed to block illegal websites and transactions with unauthorized operators, aiming to reduce consumer exposure to an estimated 1 billion euros black market. While the decree does not include specific tax changes for online gaming, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) awaits the completion of legal reorganization for gaming venues.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni supported these reforms, recognizing the crucial economic role of gaming, which generated significant tax revenues in 2022, totaling around 11 billion euros.
On the other hand, associations like EGBA point out that the proposed fee represents a 35-fold increase from the 2018 licensing fee of 200,000 euros, and it triples the previous proposal of the licensing fee by Italian authorities, which was 2.5 million euros. This may discourage new operators and force existing licensees, especially smaller ones, to exit the market. This significant reduction in the number of licensed operators could contribute to the growth of the online gaming black market in the country.
Source: GMB
