Italy’s ongoing gambling reform, driven by significantly increased licence fees and higher barriers to entry, is rapidly consolidating Europe’s largest
Italy’s ongoing gambling reform, driven by significantly increased licence fees and higher barriers to entry, is rapidly consolidating Europe’s largest market. Industry stakeholders are anticipating a major shake-up and a steep reduction in the number of active online operators, a move many believe is intentional on the part of the government.
The Italy Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) officially concluded its tender process to award remote gambling concessions in the country on May 30, 2025. While successful bidders are expected to be announced after summer, industry experts are already predicting a profoundly redrawn competitive landscape.
Moreno Marasco, President of Italy’s LOGiCO online gambling association, predicted a steep decline in the number of operators active in the jurisdiction. Speaking ahead of the changes, as reported by iGaming Times (originally Sigma magazine), Marasco noted that compared with the previous tender, which attracted 93 applications, only around 50 are believed to have submitted bids this time around. At current predictions, the Italian market is expected to shrink from the current 81 to approximately 33 concessionaires, effectively cutting the number of remote operators by around 60%. Marasco characterised this as a “significant drop, despite the Italian market’s exponential growth in both revenues and legal operators,” adding that when the new system comes into force, “the competitive landscape will be thoroughly redrawn.”
According to Christian Tirabassi, founder and senior partner at M&A advisory firm Ficom Leisure, this rapid consolidation is precisely what the government had hoped to achieve. For years, there were surprisingly few barriers to entry into what has become one of Europe’s most affluent and prominent gambling markets. Now, in a move to modernise its legislation and bring regulations up to speed with the market’s scale, regulators are intentionally “weeding the smaller fish out of an increasingly sizeable pond.”
Tirabassi highlighted, as reported by iGaming Times, that previously, very small companies were able to operate in a market then worth €4 billion (now €5 billion) with an initial investment of just €250,000 for a remote gaming concession. He stated, as reported by iGaming Times, that “The regulator decided that this is not acceptable. You don’t want to put a delicate operation like this in the hands of a company without financial strength.” This time around, the focus has been squarely on companies that can meet the highest financial, technical, and compliance standards - those who, in Tirabassi’s words, “won’t skip AML requirements to save €5,000.” He describes this process as “natural selection.”
Under the new concessions scheme, online sports betting and online casino operators will face a significant initial licensing fee of €7 million per vertical and per brand. In addition to this substantial upfront cost, operators will pay 24.5% tax on GGR for online sports betting and 25.5% tax on GGR for online casino. They will also be subject to an annual fee set at 3% of GGR and are mandated to spend at least 0.2% of their GGR on responsible gambling campaigns, capped at €1 million.
Ficom Leisure, in preparation for the new concessions scheme, has reportedly been involved in several M&A deals where small- and medium-sized operators were absorbed by larger ones. While consolidation is a recurring theme in the industry, Italy’s gambling reform appears to have dramatically accelerated this trend. Tirabassi predicts, as reported by iGaming Times, that post-tender, “large, integrated, multi-product, multi-channel companies will dominate the market.” He expects just a handful of operators to generate around 80% of Italy’s €5.2 billion in remote GGR, with no more than 30 or 35 operators active in the legal market as a whole. Tirabassi explained, as reported by iGaming Times, that “The reform has brought the price of the licence to a normal level,” considering that the previous, lower price was “the abnormal part.” He added that the stricter requirements and the necessity of being an omnichannel operator to succeed in Italy have collectively created “natural selection in favour of larger corporations.”
The rapid concentration of revenues in the hands of a smaller number of operators is far from the only change afoot in Italy. With this extensive overhaul of the system, the government aims to significantly ramp up standards across the board, from cybersecurity to AML and player protection. Italy has regulated online gambling since 2006, making it an early adopter in Europe. When the new technical reforms come into force - expected some months after the concessions are awarded - they will effectively replace a scheme that has been in place for almost 20 years.
Some of the new regulations are specifically designed to adapt to, and better leverage, the trend towards digitalisation. For example, a number of new player protection tools will be introduced, allowing customers to set limits on their deposits, spend, and playing time, as well as enabling self-exclusion from online platforms. Automated warning alerts will also aim to dampen compulsive behaviour, with stricter controls specifically targeted at the younger 18-24 age bracket - a measure described as a first in European regulation.
The relative stability in Italy’s gambling market over the last decade has paid dividends for the industry as a whole. Total GGR hit €21.6 billion in 2024, marking a 4.4% increase from the year before. Approximately a quarter of this, €5 billion, was accrued online, and operators are reportedly seeing “dizzying growth” in this digital sector.
This consolidation trend has already been evident in major deals, such as Flutter’s €2.3 billion acquisition of Playtech’s Snaitech last year (2024). In September, analysts at Jefferies estimated that Flutter could ultimately command a 30% share of the Italian gaming market with Snaitech in its portfolio, thanks to its multi-brand positioning, and they expect the group to maintain a top spot for online share. In 2023, Flutter held a 15% GGR share of the Italian online betting and iGaming market through its Sisal and PokerStars brands, with Snaitech contributing just behind at 10%.
While the remote concessions move forward, Italy is also set to overhaul its land-based market, aiming to unify its licensing scheme, introduce strict location rules, limit cash deposits to €100 per week, and implement mandatory ID and self-exclusion systems. However, pressure from regional authorities has reportedly forced the government to push back these land-based reforms to mid-2026, rather than the previously planned end of 2025. By then, the federal and local governments will aim to clarify crucial questions over funding.
According to Tirabassi, success in the Italian market hinges on having a scalable omnichannel business, ideally operating both online and land-based gambling under the same brand. He noted that since “skins” (referring to separate brands often operating under a single concession) are forbidden under the new concessions scheme, operators will have to secure concessions not just for every vertical and channel they want to operate in, but also for any separate brands they wish to offer. This regulatory change could make the consolidation of the market all the more visible in the future. With the higher barriers to entry, the Ficom founder predicts that those who successfully win out in the market could ultimately reap much greater rewards, sharing larger proportions of an even larger overall pie.
Amid these rapid changes, one thing is set to remain constant: incumbent IGT will continue to exclusively operate the Italian lottery until 2034. After a highly competitive tender process, the IGT-led consortium LottoItalia announced it had secured a nine-year renewal of its exclusive lottery concession, reportedly beating contender Flutter. The consortium did so by putting together a bid of €2.23 billion for the tender - more than double the €1 billion base price - proving once again that in the modern Italian market, financial clout is a critical factor.
