ACADI president says Italy’s land-based gambling rules deter investment

Geronimo Cardia, president of ACADI, said Italy's rules for land-based and online gambling differ in ways that affect how long players spend gambling, speaking on the final day of SiGMA World 2026. Cardia said the legislator set a payout rate of 98% online and 67% for land-based gambling. He said land-based play therefore involves less time than online play. He said 130,000 people work in land-based operations and health assistance and remain attentive to the problem. Cardia said staff training has so far been central and effective in qualifying the offer. He said land-based operations, not only online, could use AI to introduce player monitoring systems while respecting privacy.

Cardia said innovation requires rules from the legislator, who has not yet carried out the reorganisation. He said there are no tenders, and that land-based operators would therefore have to invest in technology that the State knows they cannot afford, because of the State itself. He said distance limits and time restrictions apply only to the land-based channel and only to one product type, gaming machines. He said the result is that players move online and play more, and that the legislator knows this. He said the ban on credit cards in VLTs also pushes people to play more rather than less. He made the same point about a recent ADM determination extending the use of operators' products to track users and raising the €100 limit for cash collection.