Italy’s retail gambling operators are seeking temporary support as their concessions approach expiry, with the planned overhaul of the land-based market shelved and new tenders not yet in sight. AGSI says gaming machines, horse racing and sports betting need measures to bridge the period before the next licensing process.
Concessions for betting, bingo, AWPs and VLTs expire on 31 December 2026. The decree intended to reorganise the land-based market and set terms for new tenders was shelved in August, missing the government’s 29 August deadline. A further extension is widely expected, leaving operators in a prolonged state of uncertainty.
“Gaming machines, horse racing and betting cannot wait three years,” AGSI president Pasquale Chiacchio said.
A widening gap
Italy’s online and retail gambling channels are moving at different speeds. Online operators are already working under a new concession framework, with additional rules due to take effect on 13 November. Retail accounts for roughly three-quarters of a market worth more than €21 billion, but its reform process has yet to begin.
Quirino Mancini, co-founder of IMGL, said at SBC Summit in Lisbon last month that he did not expect a government to tackle the retail reorganisation in the year before Italy’s next general election, regardless of which party was in power. “Gambling is a very sensitive issue,” he said, describing that as the reason reform had stalled.
Mancini said the reorganisation had first appeared in the 2016 Stability Law and that its technical framework was largely agreed. He identified politics, rather than regulation, as the obstacle.
Davide Diodato, CEO of Novomatic-owned HBG Online, said online licences last nine years while retail concessions are renewed year by year. That uncertainty, he said, makes it difficult for shopkeepers to invest or hire.
Shops under pressure
Chiacchio says customers are shifting online, where play is available around the clock and a broader range of products and promotions is offered. Retail shops face distance rules, limits on opening hours and permit requirements. He said commercial investment was also moving online, while shops faced rising costs and declining revenue.
Gaming tax revenue fell 6.3% to €3.64 billion in the first half of 2026, the Ministry of Economy and Finance reported.
AGSI wants the transition period used to make shops more attractive, including by allowing new products to be sold through agencies and authorised outlets. Chiacchio cited the 1998-1999 trial that first introduced sports betting in horse racing agencies as a precedent.
The association is also calling for a consultation involving government, institutions and the industry to start drafting tender rules. It wants small and medium-sized businesses to be able to compete alongside larger groups, and a more evenly distributed national network with trained staff. AGSI cited Campania’s regional law as a model.
Chiacchio warned that a shrinking legal network would create space for illegal operators, arguing that enforcement should focus on the black market rather than impose further restrictions on licensed shops. AGIC, whose members include Flutter, Lottomatica, Entain and Bet365, has also criticised repeated extensions for leaving retail operators without long-term certainty for nearly a decade.
