Italy gambling sector: ADM backs controls to curb illegality
The fight against illegal gambling is again at the centre of the debate on the future of the Italian market. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze – MEF) Report on the state of expenditure and the efficiency of administrative action confirms the growing weight of controls in the public gambling sector, at a stage marked by the reorganisation of the online segment and by expectations of a comprehensive reform of the land-based network.
The issue is not only about enforcement. Tackling illegal supply has become essential to protecting the regulated market, safeguarding consumers, defending licensed operators, and preserving tax revenue.
ADM’s role in the new phase of public gambling
The Customs and Monopolies Agency (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli – ADM) remains one of the central players in Italy’s public gambling framework. ADM serves as the State’s supervisory authority in the sector, managing the licensing system, regulatory measures, and control activities to prevent illegal conduct.
The MEF 2025 Report, referring to 2024, together with the MEF-ADM Convention 2025-2027 and ADM’s PIAO 2025-2027, places the Agency’s work within a broader framework: legality, control, player protection, and the strengthening of the regulated market.
The point is that rules alone are not enough. To work, the licensing system needs a recognisable authorised network, effective controls, and a clear boundary between legal and illegal supply.
ADM: ‘Control is not only repression’
Speaking to SiGMA News, ADM clarified that enforcement activity should not be viewed solely as repressive or punitive. On the contrary, for the Agency, it represents “a structural, preventive, and essential pillar” for preserving the integrity of public gambling in Italy.
According to ADM, the regulated supply chain, based on licences and authorisations, requires constant checks to ensure the traceability of financial flows, combat underage gambling, protect consumers, and safeguard tax revenue.
The Agency also points to the consolidated data for 2025: controls across the country rose to 31,391, while specific checks against underage gambling totalled 14,418. The average positivity rate of controls, ADM says, stood at 11.01 per cent, thanks in part to reports, cross-referencing databases, and cooperation with the police forces.
In a market where demand does not disappear but instead tends to shift towards less controllable channels, a lack of oversight risks creating space for unauthorised operators.
Hybrid models between land-based and online gambling
Illegal gambling no longer operates only through traditional clandestine outlets. According to ADM, the most problematic issue today concerns hybrid models, meaning networks that combine a physical presence on the ground with unauthorised digital platforms.
The Agency cites the case of centres or equipment located in commercial premises that may serve as interfaces for routing bets to unlicensed foreign websites. This grey area complicates inspection activities and explains the growing attention being paid to Top-up Points of Sale (PVRs).
Precisely to reduce the risk of illegal intermediation, ADM recalls the introduction of a PVR Register and stricter rules, including a ban on the use of automatic equipment without age-identification systems and on opening accounts for the owners of premises.
The online front also remains central. In 2025, according to data provided by the Agency, 1,038 unauthorised gambling websites were blocked, an increase of 44 per cent compared with 2024 and 111 per cent compared with 2023.
Protection of licensees and unfair competition
The fight against illegal gambling should also be read as a form of protection for authorised operators. ADM defines this aspect as a “fundamental interpretative key,” since the Italian model is based on a pact of legality between the State and licensees.
The recent reorganisation of remote gambling, provided for by Legislative Decree No. 41 of 2024, strengthened this framework by imposing capital requirements, financial commitments, and investment plans on new licensees, with a dedicated focus on responsible gambling. ADM notes that there are now 52 licensees under the new regime.
Those operating outside the system, by contrast, do not bear the same costs, comply with the same obligations, or offer consumers the same guarantees. For this reason, illegal supply also constitutes unfair competition, capable of distorting the market and penalising those who invest in legality.
According to ADM, defending the legal network means protecting citizens from fraud and inadequate safeguards, as well as preserving resources intended for the Treasury. In 2025, total revenue from the gambling sector exceeded €11.4 billion.
Reorganisation depends on the ability to enforce the rules
The next phase of Italian public gambling will depend not only on the new rules but also on the ability to enforce them. The reorganisation of online gambling has already defined a new regulatory perimeter, while the land-based network remains the most complex issue, particularly because of its relationships with local areas, local authorities, gaming halls, machines, and points of sale.
In this scenario, controls and reform are not two separate tracks. Legality becomes a condition of competitiveness. A regulated market can function only if authorised supply is recognisable, controlled, and protected from the pressure of the black market.
The fight against illegality, therefore, is not a secondary chapter of the reorganisation. It is one of the criteria by which the credibility of the next phase of public gambling in Italy will be measured.
This article was originally published on the Italian SiGMA News page on 23 June 2026.
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