Italy's 2027 budget to get 700 million euros from gambling

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that the 700 million euro portion of the 2027 budget will be covered by the gambling sector. The Council of Ministers approved the draft on 28 October. Energy companies will also be asked for a contribution of similar size within the package of roughly 26 billion euros. However, how much each subsector will pay has not yet been announced, and the bill may be changed in Parliament.

The government's own budget plan expects gambling revenue of 718 million euros for 2027 and 2028, and 478 million euros for 2029. These figures add up to about 2 billion euros between 2027 and 2029. According to the draft reported by Jamma, land-based slot, betting and bingo licences will be extended to 31 December 2029, and about 305 million euros will be paid for this in 2027. Machine tax is also rising. The PREU rate on AWP machines will increase from 24 percent to 25 percent of the amount wagered, and is expected to bring in 150 million euros. The VLT rate will be raised from 8.6 percent to 9.6 percent.

The draft includes no online tax in any of the digitised items. The burden will fall on venue operators, machine concession holders and land-based licence holders rather than online brands. These steps come right after Italy's online licence tender.

The retail side of the sector reacted within a day. EGP-FIPE, the association of licensed gaming venues, warned that the increase in machine tax would make at least 20 percent of specialised venues unprofitable and put thousands of jobs at risk.

The wider market puts this warning in context. Italy's total gaming turnover in 2025 reached 165.33 billion euros, up 5 percent on the previous year. Gross gaming spending was 21.869 billion euros. State tax from gambling was 11.5 billion euros, close to the previous year's 11.6 billion euros. Virtual betting revenue rose 23.14 percent, while online casino and cash games rose 17.74 percent.