Best casino sites in Italy

Population: 60.590.000
Active players: 15.000.000
Currency: Euro
Regulated gambling products: Fixed odds sports betting, betting exchanges, casino games, lottery, horse racing, pool betting, poker, bingo
Operator types: Both land-based and online, unlicensed casino sites are ISP blocked and blacklisted
Designated authority: Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM)
Status: Fully regulated, operates under licensing system

Italy is perhaps the richest nation when it comes to history and culture. It is not only the birthplace of the Roman Empire, the Rennaisance and Leonardo Da Vinci but also home to Ridotto, the first ever organized casino. All forms of gambling are celebrated within Italy in a fairly liberalized environment, where players can choose from any of the five land-based casinos or one of the 120 casino sites. Approximately one out of four Italians gamble on a weekly basis regardless of age, gender or economic background as slots and lotteries are considered a casual pastime. The Bel Paese is acclaimed as a prime example of how online casinos should be regulated with the ADM holding a firm grasp on the local market by protecting Italian players whilst dealing fairly with casino sites in Italy.

Italian casinos facts

• Italians have the highest per capita gambling spending in Europe
• About 1 of every 4 Italians gamble online or offline on a weekly basis
• There are currently 120 licensed operators with plans to increase this number to 200
• Although playing on unlicensed casinos is considered illegal, no legal action has been taken against players
• You are not required to pay any taxes on your casino winnings

Best online casinos in Italy

Online Casino Gambling in Italy

The Italian casino landscape closely resembles the licensing system employed within the United Kingdom and Denmark. This is evident by the presence of a clear licensing Authority (the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli), a large number of license holders and a recent surge of populist outcry due to alleged gambling problems. In terms of regulation, online operators are expected to pay a one-off fee of €200,000 along with 20% on their gross gaming revenues to obtain a license which is valid for a period of nine years and operate under a .it domain. The most significant requirement is that they have a physical presence within the European Union or any member state of the European Economic Area as this has not allowed certain respected non AAMS casinos from obtaining a license. Currently, the Italian market is dominated by Lottomatica and Europacasino with Leo Vegas and Casino Cruise also amounting for a large share.

Italian Casino players

The abundance of casino sites options and non taxed winnings mean that Italians are among the luckiest gamblers when it comes to freedom of choice. Playing the slots is an everyday phenomenon both on local operators like Snai, Sisal and Lottomatica, foreign licensed brands like Leo Vegas and foreign casinos (casino stranieri) like Betrally and 1xbet Italia. Although the current legislation states that gambling on non aams casinos is considered illegal and can lead to heavy fines, no legal action has been taken towards players ever since the first gambling law was drafted in 2006.

Competition among casinos

The competition between the local, foreign and unlicensed casinos is fierce as every operator is diligently trying to obtain a larger share on the Italian market. This led some betiing companies to switch to more aggressive marketing efforts for their odds and bonuses, like securing football club sponsorships and prime time on some significant Seria A matches TV streams. The 2017 Seria A – 1xbet sponsorship deal was seen as the straw that broke the camel’s back as 1xbet had not secured a local license by the AAMS. The government stepped in and proclaimed that all gambling advertisements will be banned starting January 1st 2019, a move that it is estimated to cost around €120 million from club sponsorships league-wide. Furthermore, a second round of smearing was declared against non licensed betting and casinos sites, as the ADM is trying to limit their influence within Italy.

Despite the recent scare tactics towards non AAMS casinos, there are many websites that should be considered as trusted and reliable. The reasoning behind ADM’s arguments is the fact that they are not based within Europe and can thus not obtain an Italian license. This means that non AAMS casinos like 1xbet, Campeonbet and Betrally Italia should be totally trusted.

Payment methods in Italy

Italian players are luckily enough free to choose whichever payment method they please to deposit on licensed and foreign online casinos. The most common deposit methods include PostePay, direct bank transfers along with Paypal, Skrill and Neteller. Generally, most operators will let you deposit both through mobile and desktop, there are however some restrictions on certain payment methods, like MyBank, where verification is generally more strict. In terms of cryptocurrencies, most Italian online casinos will not offer this option due to its low demand from players. If you are looking to retain your financial privacy by using Bitcoin or any other digital currency, then your best bet is to try a foreign site that accepts deposits and withdrawals.

The Queen of Hearts comment

I have mixed feelings on how Italy chooses to regulate online casinos. Surely, the liberal approach towards the number of licensees and the low taxes are working to the players’ benefit, however, the recent populist attempts to crack down on gambling sites ads are sure to harm both consumers and operators alike. If the ADM truly has the players’ interest at heart it should try to pressure the existing license holders to improve their product and try to better protect minors instead of demonizing non-European casinos. They way I see it, most gamblers will slowly but steadily turn to non AAMS casinos for two simple reasons:

Your financial details remain private. Odd as it might seem to players from other countries, all major and minor banks in Italy will disclose their customers’ transactions to the MEF (Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze) as they are forced to share these details.

No government interference on your bank balance. There have been many instances during the past two years where the MEF confiscated casino winnings from bank accounts in a unilateral agreement towards debt settling. What is directly evident is that government is forcing the players’ hands to turn to non-licensed casino sites as payouts from non AAMS websites are not declared as gambling winnings.

Frequently asked questions