Lollobrigida (ADM): “Licensees must invest in responsible gaming”
On Thursday, 11 September, the Senate’s Sala Caduti di Nassirya hosted the presentation of the study “Responsible Gaming and Young People Under 25: motivations, contexts and intervention strategies”. The research, carried out by the Economic Psychology Research Unit at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and promoted by the FAIR Foundation – ETS, placed the issue of protecting younger players at the centre of the debate.
The event featured an address by Mario Lollobrigida, Central Director for Gaming at the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), who outlined the recent regulatory developments and the challenges ahead for the industry.
The 2023 law is a turning point
According to Lollobrigida, Law 111/2023, the so-called tax delegation, marked a genuine turning point. For the first time, legislation was explicitly designed to raise the level of social responsibility within the gaming sector.
A crucial step concerns online gaming: the provisions of Legislative Decree 41/2024. The text was included in the current tender for new digital licenses, with complete implementation expected in 2026. The stated goal is to strengthen player protection through stricter rules and innovative prevention tools.
Young adults and gaming limits
A particular focus was dedicated to players under 25, considered a category more vulnerable to risk. For this age group, the legislation sets lower spending and deposit limits compared with other players. However, these thresholds are not fixed: young adults retain the option of requesting higher limits should they wish.
For Lollobrigida, this represents a significant step forward: “Young adults are fully capable of making their own choices, but it is right to introduce initial constraints that act as a safeguard”.
Licensees and concrete obligations
The ADM director stressed the pivotal role of licensees, who are required to make tangible investments in responsible gaming. This is not an optional measure but a binding obligation set out by Legislative Decree 41/2024: each licensee must allocate 0.2% of their annual net revenues, up to a maximum of one million euros, to prevention initiatives and projects.
During the first year, this contribution is fixed; after that, it is adjusted according to each operator’s revenues. Among the most significant innovations, Lollobrigida highlighted the deployment of artificial intelligence to detect early signs of problematic behaviour. In addition, licensees are obliged to maintain direct contact with players online, ensuring timely and targeted intervention when necessary.
Information and government-led campaigns
A significant portion of these resources will be directed towards information campaigns on responsible gaming, with topics defined annually by a government commission, in consultation with the Ministry of Health’s Observatory. This approach ensures that awareness-raising efforts are coordinated at the national level, promoting a culture of more mindful gaming.
As Lollobrigida pointed out, “the regulatory framework has evolved positively, but we are still at year zero: the real impact of these measures will only become visible in the coming years.”
Best practices and international challenges
ADM has also established a dedicated structure to collect and study best practices in order to provide guidance to licensees. Nevertheless, the process remains complex. At an international level, regulators face the same difficulties and, in some cases, poorly calibrated measures have had the opposite effect, driving problem gamblers away from the legal market towards unregulated platforms.
For this reason, prevention must be carefully balanced, reducing risks without inadvertently encouraging migration to illicit operators.
A sector in transformation
The Senate presentation offered a clear picture of a sector undergoing profound transformation, where social responsibility is becoming a cornerstone. Stricter licensing rules, specific limits for young adults, artificial intelligence monitoring and institutional information campaigns form the pillars of this renewed regulatory approach.
The year 2026 will mark the beginning of a new era for regulated online gaming in Italy, a decisive test of whether these reforms can deliver tangible results and build a more sustainable industry centred on the protection of players.
This article was first published in Italian on 19 September 2025.
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