The Italian government has enacted a major legislative overhaul aimed at curbing match-fixing and unlawful betting activity, solidifying its stance against criminal infiltration in the sports sector. These measures, introduced under the broader Decreto Sport (Sports Decree), mark a significant escalation in Italy’s regulatory approach, reinforcing the nation’s commitment to preserving the fairness of sports competitions and the integrity of the legal gambling industry.
Legal Duty to Report Betting Irregularities
The Decreto Sport, approved by the Council of Ministers on June 20, 2025, establishes a binding obligation for relevant administrative bodies to report abnormal betting flows to the General Prosecutor’s Office for Sport at CONI, Italy’s National Olympic Committee. This marks a formal shift toward systematic prevention and rapid response mechanisms to address potential manipulation of sporting events.
Article 6 of the decree amends Law No. 401 of December 13, 1989, by inserting several new clauses. Paragraph 3-bis states that when authorities identify irregular betting activity, they must promptly inform the Sports Prosecutor’s Office. The purpose is to facilitate a timely investigation into potentially compromised matches and ensure thorough oversight from federal sports prosecutors.
In addition, paragraph 3-ter empowers the Sports Prosecutor to request detailed information from relevant authorities about the competitions under suspicion, particularly those linked to gaming accounts held directly or indirectly by registered athletes or affiliates. Upon such a request, authorities are required to provide the personal details of the account holders, including unique identifiers and any evidence linking them to the sporting world. This information is then forwarded to the appropriate federal prosecutors for follow-up.
To enable this process, the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) is tasked with implementing the necessary infrastructure for data-sharing, once it receives the list of registered or affiliated individuals and their tax identification codes from the General Prosecutor’s Office for Sport.
Focus on Transparency and Prevention
These new measures form a central part of Italy’s renewed push to insulate the legal betting market from organized crime. “Another crucial step towards ensuring transparency, legality, and fairness in sports while also fighting organised crime within the betting sector,” is how Andrea Abodi, Minister for Sport and Youth, described the decree. He reaffirmed that the goal is not only to protect athletes and sporting integrity but also to shield the lawful operators within Italy’s regulated gaming industry—a sector that contributes significantly to both tax revenues and employment.
Match-fixing is defined as the deliberate manipulation of sports outcomes to produce predetermined results, typically for the benefit of illegal betting operations. It erodes public confidence in the authenticity of competitions and undermines the stability of the regulated betting market, where transparency and trust are critical.
According to the government, the scope of the reform ensures that every suspicious betting event linked to athletes or insiders can be swiftly detected and scrutinized. The legislation creates new channels of communication between sports authorities and judicial entities, promoting coordination that is essential for cracking down on manipulation attempts.
Wider Goals for the iGaming Sector
Beyond its disciplinary focus, the Decreto Sport supports broader reforms to Italy’s gambling regulation framework, where transparency and consumer protection are central themes. The traceability of betting accounts and financial transactions is expected to become a key differentiator between licensed, responsible operators and those acting outside the legal perimeter.
The initiative aligns with international efforts to secure sporting fairness and reflects a growing recognition of the role digital betting platforms play in both opportunity and risk. The Italian government has clearly signaled that unchecked betting anomalies will no longer be tolerated, and enforcement bodies now have stronger legal tools to intervene.
As implementation begins, industry stakeholders—including legal sportsbook operators—are expected to contribute by maintaining full compliance and aiding in the identification of suspicious activities. The ultimate objective is to restore and uphold the credibility of sports competitions while fostering a clean, sustainable environment for regulated gambling in Italy.
Source:
Decreto sport, ecco le norme sul match fixing approvate dal Consiglio dei ministri, gioconews.it, June 20, 2025