Online Gambling Licence and Regulation in Italy

During the recent pandemic, interest in online betting sites grew in Italy and across the globe. Offering a robust digital infrastructure, Italy has seen a rise in online betting by citizens and regional inhabitants. In response, AAMS began issuing additional online licenses to keep up with increasing demand. The agency approves licensure for several gambling establishments in Italy, including the following:

• Unibet
• Leo Vegas
• Casino.com

AAMS offered supervision for casinos during the transition to legalized digital sports betting and other skilled gambling services. The agency’s robust regulatory framework is set up to maintain a safe online gambling environment that promotes responsible gaming. Following global best practices, licensees outline self-monitoring procedures and offer information to gamblers about agencies that help those who are addicted.

Online gambling has served to offset the decline in the land-based gaming market in recent years. However, AAMS continues to regulate and monitor betting to protect consumers from the illegal practices of disreputable or unlicensed online sites. Given that some operations and the government lost millions from declining gambling revenue during the pandemic, online betting offers a way to build the market and offset those losses.

Requirements

Companies seeking an online license to offer betting opportunities may access the application from the AAMS website. After downloading and completing the form, an applicant also supplies additional documents to give the agencies detailed data for an informed review of the casino site’s operations. Supporting documents include the following:

• Acceptable identification
• Business permit
• Business plan

After completing the application and submitting applicable documents, the applicant submits a fee as outlined by the agency. Reviews of new operators are extensive and may include background checks and an in-depth evaluation of each company’s principal.

If approved, the operator may offer online products or services based upon the approved plans submitted during the review process. AAMS regularly inspects establishments to ensure they are operating in keeping with regulations. Operators who maintain fiscally and legally sound operations continue to offer long-term operations to those gambling online from Italy.

If a casino is lucky enough to obtain approval for one of Italy’s online casino licenses, it may also offer services in other countries where it is legal. Online casino sites may not provide services in countries where gambling is illegal or banned by outside operators. However, many countries across the globe welcome the AAMS license, which opens the door for operators from Italy to expand operations and revenue. Those companies that fail to adhere to regional boundaries and local laws in other countries risk license revocation, fees, and other penalties.

The AAMS in-depth review of applicants by and large results in licensees maintaining operational and integrity standards. Additional license requirements include:

• Enhanced security for consumer accounts
• Responsible gambling policies
• Adhering to advertising restrictions for gambling
• Players must retain a 90% margin of victory or ROI
• No fraud

Pros and Cons

With the ability to reach gambling audiences across the globe, the AAMS license approval is beneficial to the region’s online casino operators. It is conducive to operators who seek to offset losses from land-based gambling venues. After approval, most operators service audiences in other countries. By building an excellent online reputation, online casinos benefit both the company’s bottom line and Italy’s overall budget by paying increasing taxes.

However, the AAMS license does have drawbacks. The process for approval is costly at 350,000 euros, 20% VAT, 27.5% corporate tax, and 0.6% added tax. A company must adhere to myriad regulations after approval, which is also expensive. Continuing operations in the region require regular payments to Italy’s government, forcing the operator to submit at least 1.5 million euros within two years of licensing approval. Any company opening online casinos in the region must review the costs and weigh up the pros and cons before applying for licensure.

Italy’s gambling laws ensure operator integrity, protect consumers, restrict gambling by minors, and promote best practices in the region. Licensed casinos suspend violators after investigative due process. According to Italy's laws, these are some reasons an online casino site may lose its license.

• Convicted for violating laws in Italy
• Refusing to adhere to gambling regulations
• Offering false information on the licensing application
• Violating the public trust

In Italy, AAMS strictly follows regulations regarding operator behavior. Promoting honest operations is paramount to ensuring a safe online casino environment. As a result, licensees violating the established codes of conduct may face penalties.

Regulations

Beyond following operational, financial, and consumer laws, operators must obtain consent from regulators before implementing substantial operational changes. License approval is based on documents submitted during the application process. Changing those plans requires a review to ensure revisions to the licensee’s operations do not violate regulations.

Italy’s growing online gambling market is evolving. As more casinos provide services to citizens over the internet, regulators face the challenging job of maintaining secure operations for consumers. Implementing strong oversight measures, AAMS continues to enforce regulatory standards to protect Italian citizens who wager online.

Gambling has been an integral part of Italian life since the Roman era. After establishing gambling regulations in recent times, Italy curbed illegal activity by forcing the closure of disreputable operators. The new laws offered a robust framework for guiding licensed online betting sites on the best practices for providing services to Italian citizens.

AAMS implements strong controls to keep illegal activity at a minimum. Still, the illicit platforms exist and take a sliver of the overall gambling market. The government supports the agency to ensure problem gambling does not upend the country’s socio-economic balance. In addition, gambling supplements the country’s revenue and supports critical public projects. For this reason, legislators enacted strong measures to ensure AAMS oversees the expansive growth of online betting in the region.

Land-based operations have historically been the focus of Italy’s regulators. Recently, the government established a tight rein on online operators to ensure monitoring of privately owned websites operating in Italy. As the country’s leading authority for gambling regulation, AAMS performs regular evaluations of both land-based and digital operators to ensure compliance with the country’s laws. These reviews offer insight into the efficacy of each business. Licensed operators have several layers of operations, including personnel, customer service, financial, policies, equipment, and software.

Market Regulation

Overseeing gambling across Italy, AAMS ensures the integrity of the gaming infrastructure. The government agency invests funds in meeting the mandate to achieve operational excellence and a high level of integrity among operators. The agency protects bettors, approves budgets, audits operators, and revokes licenses for companies violating applicable statutes. It’s an arduous task because Italy enjoys a booming online betting market. Citizens flock to the web every day to participate in sportsbooks and lottery gambling opportunities. The government works diligently to ensure online operators offering these services to citizens adhere to licensing requirements.

Quick facts

Gambling has a long history in Italy and goes back as far as the 17th century. There have always been clubs for gambling members. Furthermore:

• The word 'casino' is Italian, and Baccarat was invented there in the 15th century.
• Around 160 UK licensed gambling establishments also have licenses issued by the AAMS. This is the primary regulatory body in Italy.
• Operators applying for a gambling license must abide by a set of rules and regulations provided, even before they make an application.
• The Italian government made gambling legal in 2007. Further legalization happened in 2011 when offline and online gambling was looked at even more carefully.