ADM Approves 46 Operators as Italy Reworks Licensing

Italy is overhauling how it handles online gambling, bringing in new rules, higher costs, and stricter oversight. The latest round of license approvals from the Italian Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM) comes with major changes to the way gambling operators will do business in the country.

Good to know

• The new license fee is €7 million per vertical, a 35x increase from the previous €200,000 rate.
• All current license holders must reapply by March 2026 to stay active in the market.
• Operators face new obligations for tax rates, responsible gambling, and advertising restrictions.

ADM approved 46 online gambling operators under the revised framework. Big names like Betfair, Sisal, Snaitech, bet365, Marathonbet, William Hill, and LeoVegas made the list. Several of these are under Flutter Entertainment, which also owns FanDuel. Flutter recently expanded further in Italy by acquiring Snaitech in April.

Under the new licensing regime, every vertical—whether sports betting or online casino—must pay a €7 million fee to the Ministry of Economy. That means the government will bring in €322 million once all 46 operators submit their payments. Under the old rules, the same group of applicants would have only generated around €9.2 million in fees. The jump is massive, and some believe it could squeeze out smaller competitors.

The ADM plans to complete its final checks on all approved operators by September, when licenses will officially be granted. From that point, companies have six months to get ready for launch. Operators currently active under the old licensing framework will be allowed to operate until March 2026. After that, only newly approved entities can legally offer gambling services.

On top of the high entry fee, operators must pay 24.5% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) for online sports betting and 25.5% for online casino operations. An additional 3% annual GGR payment is also required. All operators must also spend at least 0.2% of annual revenue—and up to a maximum of €1 million—on responsible gambling programs.

The reforms go beyond licensing and taxes. Italy is now reconsidering rules from the 2018 Dignity Decree, which banned gambling ads entirely. A new committee is working with Serie A, Italy’s Olympic Committee, and media outlets to rethink gambling sponsorship and advertising deals. These talks could open the door for new, regulated marketing opportunities.

Operators will also have to step up their responsible gaming efforts. New platforms will be required to offer tools like deposit caps, self-exclusion options, and limits on session times to reduce harm and promote safer gambling behavior.

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