Last updated on January 5th, 2024 at 07:04 am
The Italian government approved a new decree that will revamp gambling laws. Their goal is to adjust the regulations according to current industry trends.
The Italian government has chosen to move on with the decree to restructure the gaming sector issued by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (MEF) in 2024, marking a significant step towards thoroughly reforming the country’s online gambling business. Nevertheless, operators have accused lawmakers of taking a hasty and disorderly approach, which has led to significant tension over newly envisioned license costs.
According to bookie PPH experts, the new laws in Italy are supposed to protect gamers, particularly kids, fight crime, and increase tax money for public initiatives and social reasons, according to the government. The new rule includes steps to combat underage gaming, safeguard vulnerable players, provide self-limitation tools, spread warning messages, and implement deposit-based consumer limits.
Italy to Revamp Gambling Laws
From $392,000 in 2018 to about $7.66 million in 2019, licensing costs will also undergo a significant overhaul. In addition to a 3% operational charge on net sales, operators must pay an extra 0.2% each year to support responsible gaming initiatives overseen by a specific gambling division of Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM).
The revised concessions system would limit each operator to no more than five licenses to address the issue of “skin websites” and selling products by a single concessionaire, which the ADM previously brought up. Competition is expected to generate $383.6 million in yearly income for the government, while concession fees are expected to bring in an extra $109.6 million annually.
Despite the government’s best intentions, some policies, such as the Italian Association of Public Games Operators and Italy’s Association for Slot Machine Vendors, have caused significant worries among industry stakeholders. Because the planned modifications would disproportionately negatively impact smaller enterprises, they pleaded with the government to consult with the industry to make the required adjustments before moving forward with the decree. Thus, they must understand the new laws before learning how to be a bookie in Italy.
Signifying a substantial industry change and a method to address legal conflicts around licensing extensions, the Italian government expects at least 50 of the 83 existing operators to apply for the new concession. According to Global Gambling news coverage, the government has planned additional steps to prevent access to unlicensed websites and transactions with illicit operators. Still, industry groups are concerned that these steps will not go far enough.
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