Italy changes the gambling law when it comes to licenses. Since the Reorganization of Gambling legislation was published, the operators weren’t satisfied, so a new framework came as an amendment to the ongoing regulations.

Resolve the operations issues

The main mission of this framework is to resolve legal disputes between the ADM (Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency) and operators, who can’t come to an agreement about the terms of license renewal. Among the issues was the fact that ADM wanted to terminate all licenses that were to expire in 2023 or 2024, and the government had to intervene.

Thanks to the new framework, the new operators will get licensed in Italy in the upcoming few months. Their licenses will last for nine years, and the fee they would have to pay is set at €7 million ($7,5 million). According to the previous law from 2018, the license fee was €200,000 ($214,834), so this is a significant increase in the fees. But that’s not all – after taxes, all operators will have to pay 3% of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) annually.

The Ministry of Finance (MEF) claims that the Italian gaming market changed in 2011 and that it’s the reason for increased fees. At the moment, big names such as SNAI, Flutter Entertainment, Lottomatica, Entain, and SKS365 dominate the market. As the Ministry of Economy and Finance estimates, around 50 operators will be interested in renewing the license.

The operators are obligated to operate only one app for each product they have, and concessionaires can have only one website.

It is expected that gaming taxes in Italy will further increase in upcoming years – €200 million in 2024 and €150 million in 2025. On top of that, the concession fees will bring €100 million annually to the government.

New requirements and tender for Lotto

Among other requirements for operators, there’s a set of technical ones. Among them is setting playing limits on platforms, which have to be set by customers, and incorporating warning messages when a player comes close to that limit. On top of that, ADM will have the right to fight unlicensed operators, including blocking their payments.

Popular Italy’s Lotto Euro game will get a new operator, and the government is about to launch a tender. Until November 2025, the game is managed by IGT, but the state is looking for a new operator. The bid begins at €1 billion.

After 2025, it is expected that the game will earn €7,7 billion annual turnover. On top of that, net annual revenue for nine years is about €200 million.

Source: “Italy’s take on licensing framework for online gambling”, April 16, 2024.

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This is according to analysts from JPMorgan who seem to be inclined to believe that the newly-established regulatory body, the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority or GCGRA is expected to move quicker than anticipated and possibly present the laws that would make it possible to introduce gambling.

Already the Groundwork for Something Bigger

The regulator earlier this year added a number of well-seasoned industry veterans whose expertise should in theory make it much simpler for the authority to set up everything it needs. Jim Murren was appointed chairman and Kevin Mullay stepped in as the CEO of the new watchdog.

So, why would the GCGRA move so quickly? JPMorgan seems inclined to believe that the regulator is keen to get all details hammered out and make sure that the upcoming $3.9-billion resort spearheaded by Wynn will be arriving in time for its scheduled date.

The upcoming project is expected to have a larger gaming area than Wynn Las Vegas, even, making it a formidable project that is doubly important because of its strategic geographical location. Analyst Joseph Greff said:

We think progress is being made with respect to gaming law enactment, a gaming license being issued, property level financing being secured, and partner equity contributions and construction accelerates. As such, we think investors will start to assess and ascribe the net equity value here.

JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff

Of course, Wynn Resorts is not the only one hoping to secure a foothold in what would be one of the most lucrative opportunities in the gambling industry.

Las Vegas Giants Ogling the Middle East Opportunity of Their Lives

MGM Resorts International may be looking to establish a non-gaming property in Dubai at first, and hoping to further expand with a casino should local authorities agree to such a transition.

The truth is that Wynn Resorts will definitely retain the upper hand, but this is not to say that by 2027, there won’t be more projects underway in the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates in particular. The GCGRA seems likely to hurry up and present at least a draft of gambling laws in the coming months, and possibly before the year is out.

This timeline actually coincides with MGM’s previous hopes to see the gambling industry in the region get underway even sooner.

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