Retail concessions for betting shops, bingo, AWP and VLT machines in Italy expire on 31 December 2026, and the decree meant to set the terms for new tenders has been shelved. The government missed its 29 August deadline.
AGSI, which represents betting shop managers, wants bridging measures for gaming machines, horse racing and sports betting while the tenders wait. 'Gaming machines, horse racing and betting cannot wait three years,' AGSI president Pasquale Chiacchio told Jamma.
Online moves ahead
Retail accounts for roughly three quarters of a market worth more than €21bn, yet its reform has not started. Online already operates under the new concession model, with additional rules taking effect on 13 November. At the SBC Summit in Lisbon, IMGL co-founder Quirino Mancini said he does not expect any government to reorganise retail in the year before the next general election. 'Gambling is a very sensitive topic,' he said. The network overhaul was first mentioned in the 2016 Stability Law. The technical basis is largely agreed; politics is the blockage, not regulation.
Operators feel it every day. HBG Online chief executive Davide Diodato, whose company is owned by Novomatic, points out that online licences are granted for nine years while retail concessions are renewed year by year, which makes it hard for shop owners to invest and take on staff. The tax pressure shows too: gambling levies fell 6.3% to €3.64bn in the first half of 2026, per the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
AGSI proposes using the transition to make shops more attractive, including new products sold through agencies and authorised points. It cites the 1998–1999 experiment that first brought sports betting into horse racing agencies. The association is asking for a consultation table with government, institutions and industry to start drafting tender rules now. It also wants small and medium businesses admitted to tenders on equal footing with large groups, and a more even national network with trained staff, modelled on Campania's regional law. Chiacchio warns that shrinking the legal network hands ground to illegal operators, and says enforcement should hit the black market. AGIC, whose members include Flutter, Lottomatica, Entain and Bet365, says repeated extensions have left the retail market without long-term certainty for almost ten years.
