Italy moves toward overhaul of online gambling sector with new licenses they've issued

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The Reconnaissance Office of Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) has confirmed that 46 companies make it to the next phase of Italy’s revolution in the online gambling licensing scheme. The previously prerequisite licenses were €200,000, but now under the new framework, each license will cost €7 million—a 35-fold increase. This profound adjustment indicates that Italy is undergoing significant structural change in its online gambling industry. 

Key developments in Italy’s new licensing framework

The ADM released a shortlist of 46 firms who are in the next round of licencing to reflect a reduction to 81 active operators, which is nearly 50 per cent of the total.

Licences now cost €7 million per vertical per brand: €4 million upfront and €3 million once full technical deployment, expected by March 2026, is completed.

Operators had to complete a rigid technical assessment by late July 2025, paying the fee before the old licences expire in mid-September (extensions to end-September possible), and then complete ADM's central platform integration within six months.

Failing to meet the criteria results in termination of all activities by August 17, 2025. Unclaimed player funds after two months will revert to the state.

These changes will have the greatest impact on European gambling® trends.

The reduction of license holders is a stark reminder of the 81 operators that once existed. With forecasts to stay under 50 operators, the rise in license fee provides ADGM with an incredible monopoly.

In addition to losing operators, the market will experience an increase in tax with sports betting being taxed at 24.5% and casino gaming at 25.5%.

This will influence any worries about gambling in Europe and its financial regulations by setting a high standard for the rest of the EU.

It is quite interesting that even the marketing-oriented term “Italian no deposit casino bonus” is within the scope of the stricter framework because new players in the market need to have an award bonus within promotional compliance and prior permissions until fully obeying the harder guidelines concerning marketing for Italy.

How the changes could impact European gambling trends

The reduction in slots is disadvantageous to providers that are smaller and catered towards niche gamers. Only larger firms that have market capital and are technically sophisticated, as well as having robust compliance infrastructure, will be able to survive in the market. 

Many of the multi-skin operators that provide slot games will need to consolidate to provide the games within the confines of a single domain per license for a single domain per license due to the need for compliance infrastructure to sustain existence; thus, platforms need to be ready to give up the extra brand variants.

Standards are now stricter due to the need to integrate with the ADM central gaming system, meeting the auditing and data security protective rudiments, as well as having the new responsible gaming feature. 

Operators that fail to meet the demands are likely to be excluded or have their license revoked. These changes will likely mean that less aggressive promotional strategies, along with more streamlined gaming environments, will be the norm. Especially dominated by single-brand slots, multi-brand environments will be less common.

What this means for international operators entering the Italian market

For international operators, the €7 million cost, coupled with the prohibition of multi-brand domains, negates any budget-friendly entry options. Companies that received preliminary approvals in the first wave included major operators like Flutter (Sisal, Snaitech, Betfair), Bet365, LeoVegas, William Hill/Evoke, IGT, Betsson, Marathonbet, and Lottomatica, among others.

New applicants need to show a minimum of €3 million revenue in the past two fiscal years, maintain a legal or operational headquarters in the EEA, and ADM’s enhanced financial transparency requirements along with higher operational legal guarantees.

The legal challenges brought forward against the pricing by smaller operators were heard in the lower and higher administrative courts without success. The Council of State upheld the pricing mechanism as lawful and market-proportional.

Provided that the licenses are granted by the Italian authorities, which is expected by October to November 2025, successful operators would need to launch within a six-month period. In the meantime, there will be transitional provisions for the operated sites until March 2026, which would allow for operational redesign and structural enhancements.

Looking ahead

Italy's change in license issued marks a sharp shift from a more fragmented approach. Increased costs, tighter restrictions, oversight, single-domain mandates, and system integration requirements mean that only the most financially robust and technically equipped companies will survive. 

Multi-brand operators and smaller providers are greatly challenged, and international groups that wish to enter the market will face tough requirements. The gambling market is undergoing significant changes, expected to culminate in license issuance later this year, transitioning fully to ADM's system by March 2026. It is a new era that may influence the entire Europe for regulatory shifts.