The world of online casinos in Italy: brands, market shares and legal limitations

There are many legal online Italian casinos. Italian online casinos are regulated by the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency. All casinos authorised to operate are ADM-AAMS certified. To receive this certification, casinos in Italy must pass a series of strict controls and make a significant financial investment.

International brands operate their online casinos in Italy. William Hill is one of the largest sports betting and gaming organisations in the world. PokerStars Casino was launched in November 2015 as a complement to their booming poker business. LeoVegas is a Swedish online gaming company founded in 2011. Since November 2017 it has been present on the Italian casinos market as Leovegases.it. Netbet is an online sports betters and casino operator with offices in UK, Malta, and Romania.

William Hill is one of the largest sports betting and gaming organisations in the world. PokerStars Casino was launched in November 2015 as a complement to their booming poker business. LeoVegas is a Swedish online gaming company founded in 2011. Since November 2017 it has been present on the Italian casinos market as Leovegases.it. Netbet is an online sportsbetting and casino operator with offices in UK, Malta, and Romania.

Entain plc owns one of the best online casinos in Italy, Gioco Digitale. It was the first site to be fully regulated.

Entain plc owns brands such as Coral, Ladbrokes, PartyPoker and Sportingbet. It also owns Gioco Digitale, the first fully regulated online casino in Italy.

In 2020, the online Italian casinos market saw a strong growth due to the lockdown. As of October 2020 a total of €103.6 million has been spent in this market, an increase of 57.5% from the previous year.

Pokerstars leads the market with 11.46%, followed by Sisal with 9.06%, Lottomatica with 7.93%, Eurobet with 6.33%, William Hill with 2.64%, and LeoVegas with 1.78%.

The online game was regulated in Italy in 2006 with the legislative decree 223/2006. Any operator licensed anywhere in the EEA with a minimum gaming turnover of EUR 1.5 million in last two years is eligible to apply for an ADM concession. The number of concessions that can be granted for online casinos in Italian is decided by the Government.

The key requirements for Italian casinos are the following:

The operator must have a gaming license issued by any European State or an adequate technical capacity to offer at least one of the games authorised in Italy.

There is a minimum share capital of €1,500,000. Financial statements for the last two years of activity related to the gaming sector are required.

The servers must be located within the territory of a European State.

The Decree-Law No. 87 of 2018, also known as the “Decreto Dignità”, introduced an absolute ban on the advertising of games and bets. It also prohibits the use of indirect advertising, including sports, cultural or artistic events. National lotteries with deferred draws, lotters and tombolas organised at local level for charity are excluded from the prohibition. Violations of the regulations are subject to a sanction of 20% of value of sponsorship or advertising.