Gambling in Italy has come a long way since the opening of Ridotto—Italy’s first gambling house—386 years ago. Home of ‘casino’ the word and ‘baccarat’ the game, Italy has a strong gambling culture that has persisted through the ages and evolved. The country’s online gambling sector is worth US$ 3.2 billion in 2024 and is expected to hit a US$4.2 billion market value in the next five years. What is driving this growth? What services and innovations define mobile gambling in Italy today? Let’s find out:
Is mobile gambling legal in Italy?
It depends on the type of gambling.
Per Italian criminal law, gambling, both public and private, is illegal. However, the law differentiates between games of luck and games of skill. Forms of gambling, such as poker, that require players to use their skills to win are legal in Italy. Residents access these games legally through onshore and offshore providers like the betway casino licensed by the AAMS.
The AAMS (Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato – Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies) is the regulatory body commissioned to regulate gambling activities in Italy by the State. It exists thanks to a line of legislation beginning in 2006, passed to legalize some forms of gambling in the country. Italy was one of the first EU countries to regulate online gambling.
What casino games are available in Italy?
Several forms of gambling have been legal in Italy since 2007. These include:
- Card games of skill
- Solitaire and tournament poker games
- Casino games like roulette and baccarat
- Bingo
- Sports and horse betting
According to the Finance Act of 2007, card games of skill are legal in Italy only if they are played as a tournament and the stakes are equal to the entry fee. This makes classic forms of poker like Texas Hold’em legal but not video poker because the latte’s outcomes depend entirely on luck.
How many online casinos operate in Italy?
There are currently over 200 online casinos in Italy, 150 of which are mobile casinos.
These online casinos are headquartered both within and outside the country thanks to a March 2010 regulation that allows international operators like Betway to provide online and mobile casino services in Italy if granted a domestic license.
Every day, residents log onto these mobile platforms to access their favorite casino games, including poker, Russian roulette, baccarat, and blackjack. Live dealer games are also available and legal in Italy.
How popular is sports betting in Italy?
Sports betting is by far the most popular form of betting in the country. According to a TGM Sport Betting Survey, 35.96 percent of Italians bet on sports in 2022. This number has only grown.
Of Italy’s sports bettors, 77.79 percent place their bets online through mobile apps like Betway. Thus, mobile sports betting is the most lucrative betting market in Italy.
There’s no questioning why that is—Italians love their sports.
Home to the internationally-lauded Serie A and three of the world’s most famous football clubs, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus, Italy is a football hub. Italians love to watch, talk about, and evidently bet on their favorite sports, and they love to do it online.
What is the future of mobile casinos in Italy?
Italy’s mobile casino market is one of the biggest and most lucrative in Europe. While the legal market is worth US$4 billion, a recent report by La Gazzetta dello Sport shows that the black market sees €25 billion in bets every year.
The future of both these markets depends greatly on the regulatory changes the Italian government makes in coming years to control mobile casino marketing and operations. It also depends on exciting innovations like AR and VR that continue to improve the mobile casino experience.