Italy has always been a specific market when it comes to casinos and gambling in a general. For many years, Italians were resisting to drop the traditional way of gambling, and that doesn’t refer just to casinos but to other establishments as well. However, things started to change in the last couple of years, while the rapid growth of online casino players was also caused by the last year’s lockdown.
Land-Based Casinos
Gambling has a big tradition in this county and slot machines were typical for bars, restaurants and other establishments. These days, reports suggest that more than 30% of Italians have practiced some form of betting, so it’s no wonder that the ruling Five Star Movement has finally started to work on the election campaign promises. It all started two years ago and the latest updates, which will start to apply in 2021 are mostly about further tax increases. For example, taxes for Comma 6A machines have been increased to 24%, with the minimum payout reduced to 65%. When it comes to VLTs, you may count on 8.6% from 1 January 2021 for VLTs with a minimum payout reduced to 83%.
Online Casinos and New Taxes
When it comes to the online casino, the taxes may be relatively high, but this country has always been casino-friendly, so it’s no wonder that this form of gambling has been legal for a very long time. In the beginning, it was exclusive to domestic operators, but several years ago, the EU government forced Italy to open its doors to off-shore operators as well.
These days, pretty much all common forms of online betting are present in Italy. There are more than 160 licensed operators and as the total revenue has jumped significantly in the last couple of years (around %25), further tax raises were a logical step. So, taxes for all gambling wins over €500 will now go from 6% to 10%. When it comes to lottery wins, the taxes have also been raised, but to 8%. Of course, players who play from abroad won’t pay any taxes.
As we already mentioned, there is no untypical restriction when it comes to the choice of betting games you can play in Italy. When it comes to online betting, the first thing that comes to the minds of Italians is sports betting and a good thing to know is that virtually everything is legal, except for blood sports, of course.
When it comes to an online casino, it has been legal for a while. The online casino became legal in 2007 and it includes pretty much all common games, including slots, table games, poker, craps, scratchcards, keno, bingo, Slingo etc. A relatively new update is the live online casino, which is also completely legal (Foxbonus has an Italian section with a list of legal casinos). Of course, bingo and lottery have been around for ages.
What to Expect In Future?
While some marginal changes in terms of taxes and advertisement restrictions may occur in the next few years, there is no doubt that most of the things will remain the same and that Italy will continue to be an extremely friendly market to all forms of gambling. Of course, have no doubt that this Mediterranean country will also tend to keep the pace with further evolution of online casinos and that Italian citizens and others won’t have to wait for too much to see the latest trends of this industry implemented into the legal system.
