Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) is studying a three-year extension of retail gambling concessions to the end of 2029, a move that could bring in €400m to €500m for the 2027 Budget Law when combined with a set of smaller lottery and enforcement measures. None of the options has yet been written into the draft law, according to Italian press reports.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has asked the MEF to examine provisional options for raising revenue from the regulated sector, the reports say. The package would lean mostly on land-based gambling, where a long-planned reorganisation of the network has stalled, while the online market sits under a licensing regime that was reformed in 2024.
Retail concessions: extension in place of tenders
Retail gambling concessions for betting shops, gaming halls, bingo and gaming machines are due to expire at the end of 2026. Pushing that date to the end of 2029 would let the Treasury keep collecting concession fees while it works out how the network should look under a long-term framework.
A temporary extension is estimated to generate €200m to €250m a year for the state over the three years. Under current rules, concessionaires pay:
- €120 a year for each amusement-with-prizes (AWP) machine
- €4,000 a year for each video lottery terminal (VLT)
- €9,500 a year for each betting agency
- €5,700 a year for each betting corner
- €2,800 a month for each bingo hall
Reports indicate the extension would come without significant increases to these fees. Beyond keeping revenue flowing, it would give the government time to test new technical requirements for machines, reopen talks with local authorities and prepare tenders for new concessions.
Why the retail reform stalled
The extension follows the collapse of the land-based reorganisation. Meloni ended negotiations with the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces in August, closing almost three years of talks and removing the reform from the 2027 legislative agenda.
The mandate under the Tax Delegation Law (Law 111/2023) expired on 29 August without agreement between the state and regional authorities on the distribution of betting shops, gaming halls and machines. Without that agreement, the government could not adopt the legislative decree that would have set the rules for new retail tenders. Reports estimate the failure to run those tenders will cost the state around €1.5bn in expected proceeds.
The MEF’s own priorities for next year point in the same direction. In its policy directive for 2027 (Atto di indirizzo), signed by Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, the ministry lists among its goals the need to “strengthen the effectiveness of controls and the recovery of tax revenue, including in the customs, excise and gaming sectors.”
Scratch-card tender and lottery measures
The MEF is also expected to set out plans for the next scratch-card (Gratta e Vinci) concession, currently held by Brightstar Lottery until September 2028. The starting price is reportedly set at around €1bn, and the single-concessionaire model is likely to stay.
Scratch cards are one of the state’s largest gambling assets. The product generates close to €500m a year for the Treasury from a 6% fee on around €8bn in sales. The tender would not help the 2027 budget, as the Treasury is unlikely to collect instalments before 2028.
Two smaller lottery measures are under review:
- A digital Lotto receipt levy, estimated to raise €15m
- An additional Lotto and SuperEnalotto draw, which could bring in around €50m a year
What it means for online operators?
The online market is largely outside the revenue package. Italy completed its online reform through Legislative Decree 41/2024, which introduced nine-year remote licences at €7m each. Implementation of that reform is ongoing.
Online operators are affected at the edges. The proposed digital Lotto levy would apply to digitally issued Lotto receipts, and reports also point to tougher penalties against illegal online gambling, alongside a push to regularise unlicensed LAN gaming halls, estimated at around €50m. Stricter enforcement against the black market would benefit licensed online brands that compete with unlicensed sites for the same players.
For retail operators, an extension to 2029 means three more years of operating on concessions originally awarded for a shorter term, with no clarity yet on how many venues and machines a future framework will allow. Italy is not alone in turning to gambling to fund next year’s budget: Ireland is weighing a betting duty rise for 2027, while in Spain the 17 regions are defending their powers over land-based gambling, the same state-region tension that sank Italy’s reform.
Next steps
All measures remain provisional and can change before the government approves the budget package. Italy’s fiscal plans for 2027 are set out in the MEF’s public finance planning documents, with the Budget Law due to reach Parliament in October 2026. Whether the concession extension appears in that text will decide if retail operators face tenders or three more years under the current regime.
Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF)
