Italy anticipates to start a legislative overhaul of land-based gambling, moving on on the mandate to modernise and unify laws, standards and securities across 20 autonomous areas and 110 towns.
Following a near two-years of settlements with regional authorities, Giorgia Meloni's federal government is expected to publish a 'draft decree' on new laws used to the management of video gaming machine networks. Articles will use nationally to franchise operators of slots, bingo halls and VLT systems.
As reported by AgiproNews, which has detailed essential settlements of the reform to SBC News, the draft decree will be sent to the Council of Ministers for evaluation and endorsement under Italy's fiscal delegation structure.
Once approved at cabinet level, the legislation will continue to the Joint State-Regions Conference and relevant parliamentary committees, without any fixed timeline yet set for application.
The extended negotiation procedure has actually been led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), led by Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo, alongside Roberto Alesse and Mario Lollobrigida, regard of President and Head of Gaming at Italy's Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM) - the firm managing the gambling market.
Retail follows online shakeup
Tough settlements focused on fixing up nationwide regulatory consistency with local sensitivities surrounding taxation, potential revenue losses, settlement mechanisms and regional budgeting effects.
The land-based reform types part of a broader restructuring of Italy's betting framework, which the Meloni government deliberately divided into separate stages for online and retail gambling.
The very first mandate prioritised the overhaul of Italy's online betting program, which came into force in November 2025, presenting brand-new licensing, tax and compliance requirements for digital operators.
Attention has now shifted to the retail sector, where early indicators suggest a considerable rationalisation of Italy's gambling footprint tied closely to customer protection and harm-prevention goals.
The variety of outlets permitted to host slot devices consisting of bars, tobacconists and video gaming halls - is anticipated to fall by around 10%, decreasing the national total to approximately 40,000 areas.
Betting shops will stay capped at 10,000 across the country, while the longstanding distinction in between specialised betting shops and "betting corners" within hospitality locations will be eliminated.
Machine numbers will likewise be scaled back, with fruit machine predicted to decrease from roughly 240,000 units to 200,000, while VLT volumes will be minimized by around 20% - from 55,000 to 46,000 gadgets.
Protection sweep
A central pillar of the reform will be the introduction of a certification program managed by the ADM. Licences and franchises will be required to show compliance with boosted standards on player security, gambling damage avoidance and robust controls to access.
AgiproNews keeps in mind that the directing concepts of the reform are "the gradual rationalisation of the retail network and the fortifying of customer security across all gaming channels."
New minimum distance guidelines from so-called "sensitive locations" will also be formalised, with accredited locations based on a 100-metre buffer and non-certified outlets to 200 metres.
These zones will include secondary schools, addiction treatment centres and medical facility facilities - changing a regulative patchwork that has long differed in between regions.
The draft decree will further impose tighter controls on opening hours, mandating daily closure periods of 6 and a half hours for licensed venues and eight hours for non-certified properties.
Alongside the structural reforms, the government is preparing new concession tenders for video gaming devices, betting and bingo operations, anticipated to be released by year-end and forecasted to generate close to EUR2bn in new tax earnings.
Big Beast market
The negotiation duration coincided with a competitive combination across Italy's land-based gaming sector. In 2024, a newly listed Lottomatica reinforced its retail supremacy through the EUR650m acquisition of SKS365, to take control of its +1,100 PlanetWin betting/arcade franchises.
