Italy’s iGaming Overhaul Creates a New Era of Concentrated Power

Italy’s far-reaching redesign of its online gambling framework is finally taking shape, and the results point toward a future where dominant incumbents thrive while smaller operators are pushed out of the market.

When the country implemented its long-anticipated overhaul in November 2025, it did so with the precision of a government intent on restructuring — not merely regulating — its digital gambling sector.

What had been discussed and delayed for nearly five years arrived in an instant: a sprawling landscape of more than 400 operating domains was compressed into just 52 licences, each bound to a single online identity. The transformation has left Italy’s iGaming ecosystem looking less like a dynamic marketplace and more like an arena defined by a handful of powerful players.

Policymakers present the shift as a move toward transparency, compliance, and a safer, better-supervised environment. Still, many smaller operators see it as nothing short of an extinction-level event.

Italy’s sudden structural shake-up

On 13 November, the customs and monopolies authority — Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) — issued 52 new licences to 46 operators, replacing an unwieldy collection of concessions and sub-brands that had multiplied over the past decade. Under the new system, each licence corresponds to only one domain, a measure that instantly erased hundreds of secondary brands.

Industry expert Christian Tirabassi, senior partner at Ficom Leisure, says the “one domain per licence rule has driven operators to drop brands, rebrand, or merge”. Major operators have consolidated their portfolios while smaller names have vanished entirely.

The financial threshold has been raised even more dramatically. The former licence fee of roughly €200,000 has been replaced by a €7 million charge, on top of substantial financial guarantees. Large corporations can absorb this cost; small operators, however, are driven to the brink.

Quirino Mancini, partner at WH Partners — with offices across Malta, Italy, Romania, Poland and Dubai — is frank about the impact: “The new tender has completely reshaped the market. We now have a situation where basically only the big boys are fully equipped to operate in Italy. The bar is very high, and this was done on purpose.” He stresses that the vision came from the top: “The government wanted to redesign the local market in accordance with a clear strategic vision encompassing and [making] bigger operators easier to control and regulate.”

The results closely follow that blueprint: fewer than 50 licences overall, most of them awarded to long-time incumbents. Stake stands out as the only newcomer.

A less vibrant competitive arena

Italy’s reconfiguration ranks as one of the sharpest contractions in any regulated European gambling market. Tirabassi describes the development as the beginning of a new competitive cycle: “Italy is entering a phase of accelerated consolidation. Over the next 12 to 24 months, the market will likely see increased M&A activity, fewer but larger players and a shift towards higher compliance and marketing standards.”

With the number of operators shrinking and the cost of entry rising, the remaining firms — usually large, multi-vertical groups with solid local infrastructure — enjoy a natural advantage. Scale has become essential. Tirabassi notes that many smaller operators “have exited or are evaluating M&A opportunities as part of a strategic sale to remain viable”.

International brands such as Betway and Unibet opted not to reapply for licences at all. Rising fees, a continued advertising freeze and the high costs of compliance have shaped Italy into a fortified but expensive market.

Consolidation promises more robust oversight and potentially stronger product offerings, but it also narrows consumer choice. As Tirabassi points out, consolidated portfolios and stronger flagship brands may help players, but competitive diversity certainly diminishes.

The dominant forces that remain

The reissued licences went primarily to heavyweight domestic and international operators. Among them are Flutter Entertainment — which in Italy oversees Sisal, Snaitech, Betfair (including Betfair Exchange), and Sky Bet Italia — alongside Bet365, Betsson, Eurobet (historically linked to Entain/Evoke), 888 Italia (part of Evoke/888 Sport), LeoVegas under MGM, and IGT.

Flutter appears especially positioned to widen its leadership thanks to its control of multiple major brands under the new one-domain-per-licence model. This consolidation reflects the broader political choice to favour large, well-capitalised operators capable of absorbing regulatory and operational demands.

Italy’s advertising paradox

Since 2018, the country’s Dignity Decree has prohibited gambling advertising and sponsorships. Many in the industry hoped the 2025 tender might relax the restrictions. Instead, the ban remains firmly in place. The contradiction frustrates operators: if Italy’s aim is to strengthen the regulated market, its refusal to allow even limited advertising cuts against that goal.

Mancini highlights the dilemma. Excessive restrictions, he warns, push customers toward illegal offshore sites: “What we’ve learned not just in Italy but all across European regulated markets is that excessive regulations indirectly benefit the illegal gambling market. Indeed, over-regulated markets continuously loaded up with multiple compliance requirements of all sorts for the locally licensed operators – especially but not only in terms of advertising restrictions – push players to offshore-based, unlicensed gaming sites.”

Hopes for a loosening of the ban are unfounded, he insists: “There will be no lifting.”

Yet enforcement is inconsistent, and operators have discovered ways around the rules.

Mancini explains: “The telecoms authority, the governmental watchdog notably in charge of enforcing the advertising ban and implementing the relevant operational guidelines, left a number of regulatory loopholes.” He says operators “by simply removing the .it suffix… to replace it with a .news, .sport, .live suffix” have managed to advertise legally by promoting services like odds comparison, statistics or sports content.

The result is a regulatory landscape that is strict on paper but porous in practice. Tirabassi notes that lifting the ban would dramatically reshape the market: “Overturning the ad and sponsorship ban would be a game-changer. It would particularly benefit new entrants and those with rebranded offerings.” Still, he acknowledges the issue is “a very delicate political topic”.

Compliance pressure and survival of the largest

Enhanced governance is central to Italy’s reset. The new rules demand tighter identity verification — including mandatory SPID or electronic IDs — tougher responsible-gambling protocols, upgraded anti-money laundering controls, and extensive reporting duties.

Tirabassi comments: “Operators are investing heavily in AML, KYC and responsible gambling measures. The increased compliance burden is a significant difficulty for smaller firms.”

Mancini is even more candid: “If you go too far — too many compliance layers of all sorts for the licensed operators to tackle including multiple ISO-style certifications and reports — you create burdens that are difficult to manage. You either need a highly specialised in-house compliance team or resort to expensive outsourcing. For small operators this is almost impossible.”

The framework therefore reinforces the market’s pivot toward scale and deep capitalisation.

The shifting balance between online and land-based

The reform also reshapes the dynamics between offline and online gambling. Operators without retail networks face strict digital restrictions and limited marketing pathways, while those with physical shops retain advantages such as signage, in-store promotions, and on-site engagement.

“Omnichannel is the natural answer in a highly restricted market,” Mancini says. “Advertising restrictions apply only to online operators. Land-based operators can still use physical signage and cross-sell once the customer is inside the shop.”

He adds that points of sale — formerly useful for onboarding players — are now more tightly regulated to prevent illegal betting or the misuse of a shop manager’s account to place offshore wagers.

The next major policy event is the long-awaited land-based tender, expected in 2026 but delayed amid ongoing negotiations with Italy’s regions and municipalities. The goal is to unify rules on matters such as distance requirements from sensitive areas like churches, hospitals and schools, as well as operating hours.

Despite the sweeping changes, Italy remains one of Europe’s most lucrative online gambling markets in both turnover and tax revenue. Licensing alone brings in around €364 million ($424 million). Tirabassi sees continued growth ahead: “The market is growing, with a forecasted GGR of over €5.2 billion ($6 billion) for 2025.”

A class of its own

For operators with capital and strategic positioning, Italy still offers significant opportunities.

Omnichannel giants will lean into integration, premium brands will continue to dominate, and well-resourced newcomers may gain ground through acquisitions. Tirabassi sees room for strategic entrants: “M&A opportunities exist for well-capitalised entrants, where strategic partnerships with local experts or tech providers can also unlock value.”

He argues Italy’s nine-year concession ensures enough competition to maintain balance: “The new nine-year concession offers the necessary diversity together with the efficiency and investment in player protection and technology.”

Ultimately, player experience could even improve despite the heavier regulatory load. “Stricter responsible gaming measures will raise trust and market credibility,” Tirabassi says, though they do introduce more friction.

In the end, Italy’s iGaming reset has replaced an expansive, varied landscape with a tightly curated oligopoly dominated by well-capitalised firms. As Mancini summarises: “Fewer operators, bigger operators, easier to control, regulate and vet. That’s where we stand.”

Where Italy moves next — particularly on advertising, combating illegal sites, and executing the 2026 land-based tender — will determine whether this transformation opens the door to innovation or locks in long-term concentration of power. What is clear is that Italy remains a major force in Europe’s online gambling sector, now operating in a league of its own.

By fLEXI tEAM