Italy’s long-promised overhaul of its land-based gambling network remains frozen, and industry executives at the SBC Summit in Lisbon last week warned that judges, not legislators, are now effectively writing the rules. Speaking on the “Beyond the Reform: The New Italian Gaming Landscape” panel on Wednesday 30 September, senior figures from across the retail and online sectors described a market caught between a modernised online regime and a retail framework drafted two decades ago. The warning landed the same week a Council of State ruling reshaped how cash top-up shops can operate.
The stakes are considerable. Retail still generates roughly three-quarters of a market worth more than €21 billion, yet its reform has not even begun.
What the Stalemate Means for Operators and Shopkeepers
Before the detail, the short version: Italy has modernised the smaller half of its market and left the larger half to drift. That mismatch is now a daily operational burden, and it is reshaping competitive dynamics faster than any formal reform would.
- Retail reform is politically paralysed. No government is expected to touch the retail reorganisation before Italy’s next general election, according to panellists, leaving a €21 billion-plus segment in regulatory limbo.
- Courts are setting policy by default. The Council of State’s ruling on top-up outlets shows judicial bodies filling gaps that lawmakers have left open for nearly a decade.
- Dual licensing timelines force operators to run online and retail on incompatible clocks.
- Consolidation is accelerating. Italy’s top five online operators already control 85% of market GGR, and executives expect that figure to climb.
- Small shopkeepers bear the cost of uncertainty, unable to plan investment or hiring under year-by-year concession extensions.
A Decade of Waiting
Quirino Mancini, co-founder and executive committee member of the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL), traced the first reference to reorganising the retail network back to the 2016 Stability Law. “A good ten years ago,” he noted. The technical architecture, he argued, is largely settled: central government would fix network size, density, opening hours and distances from sensitive sites, while regions and municipalities handle implementation.
So why the deadlock? Politics, not logistics.
“I would struggle to imagine that, in the year before elections, any government, no matter the colour, would seriously address the reorganisation,” Mancini said. “Gambling is a very sensitive issue, and that is the reason why, in my view, we are where we are.” His assessment carries an uncomfortable implication: a reform technically ready to proceed stays shelved because touching it costs votes.
When Judges Write the Rules
The panel coincided with a Council of State ruling on PVRs, the outlets where players load cash into online accounts. The court upheld the €100 weekly cap on cash and non-traceable top-ups, in force since May, and confirmed the ban on withdrawals at these shops. But it struck down a blanket ban on internet-connected devices inside the outlets, calling it disproportionate.
Mancini was blunt about the pattern. “Wherever there is a vacuum in the legislative power, the judicial one steps in, and that becomes the regulation, which is never a good thing,” he said. “With all due respect to the magistrates, most of the time they do not know exactly how our industry works.”
And that is the quieter risk here. Rules forged through litigation tend to answer narrow questions, not design coherent systems.
Two Flight Plans, One Aircraft
For operators running both channels, the inconsistency is relentless. Davide Diodato, CEO of Novomatic-owned HBG Online, pointed out that online licences run on a nine-year cycle while retail concessions are extended one year at a time.
“You don’t fly aircraft with two flight plans and different information. But it’s actually what we have to do every day. So it’s pretty tough,” he said.
The pressure falls hardest on the independent shopkeepers who form the backbone of the retail network. “Every year, they ask us what’s going to happen next year,” Diodato said. “If you put yourself in their shoes, it’s pretty hard to invest, to hire people.”
Marco Tiso, managing director of Italian gaming operator Sisal, called the situation a “missed opportunity,” noting retail is still governed by rules “largely designed 20 years ago.” Players, he said, face different products, payouts and promotions depending on the channel they use.
Consolidation Is the Real Story Online
On the digital side, Microgame CEO Marco Castaldo described Italy’s incoming regime, with new online rules taking effect on 13 November, as “hyper-regulation” of a complexity “hard to find anywhere else.” Many regulated markets, he predicted, will resemble Italy within a few years.
The sharpest consequence is concentration. When moderator Mauro De Fabritiis of MDF Partners presented market data, Castaldo added his own: “Today, the top five account for 85% of market GGR, and that’s going to go up.” His forecast was unsentimental. Market leaders acquiring rivals will win; most small operators merging simply to survive will lose.
Fabio Bufalini, country director of Stake Italy, raised a different grievance. Licensed operators cannot advertise bonuses, while unregulated sites promote freely across social media. “That’s unfair competition, to be clear,” he said.
Retail’s Next Chapter: Point of Sale to Point of Assistance
Panellists agreed the online outlook is strong, with Italian penetration still between a third and a half of some northern European markets. Several argued retail’s role is shifting rather than fading.
“There will always be value in a face-to-face experience and physical involvement for the player,” Castaldo said. Tiso went further, predicting shops will evolve “from the concept of a point of sale to a concept of a point of assistance, a point of meeting” (a reframing that, in practice, demands streamlined certification to avoid smothering new ideas).
He even floated a reversal of the traditional flow. “Probably tomorrow it will be the online that will send customers to the retail shops,” he said, where players complete their experience with a social, community dimension the screen cannot provide.
Diodato sees the generational handover already underway. For 15 years, many high-value players found their online accounts through shops and land-based affiliates. Younger players arrive through “a piece of content online, a product, a community, a friend.” Retail, he suggested, could flip from entry door to retention tool.
And then there is the one thing the unlicensed market cannot replicate. “They can copy our games,” Diodato said. “But they can’t have the bond with the territory that we have.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why has Italy’s land-based gambling reform stalled?
The technical framework is largely agreed, but the reform is politically sensitive. Panellists at SBC Summit said no government is likely to tackle the retail reorganisation in the year before Italy’s next general election.
What did the Council of State rule on PVRs?
The court upheld the €100 weekly cap on cash and non-traceable top-ups and confirmed the ban on withdrawals at these outlets. It overturned a blanket ban on internet-connected devices in the shops, judging it disproportionate.
How concentrated is Italy’s online gambling market?
The top five operators account for around 85% of gross gaming revenue, and executives expect that share to rise as consolidation accelerates.
When do Italy’s new online rules take effect?
13 November. The online overhaul is proceeding on schedule, in sharp contrast to the retail reform that has yet to start.
