ADM director calls for stronger controls on illegal online gambling
Regulation2 min read
ADM Games director Mario Lollobrigida called for stronger controls on unauthorised online operators at an event in Rome on 13 November 2026. He said website blocking was insufficient and urged new measures, closer checks and greater involvement from concessionaires in protecting players.
ADM games official Mario Lollobrigida addressed the need to strengthen checks on unauthorised operators; the tools available to combat illegal online gambling, including website blocking, had proved insufficient. He was speaking at an event in Rome marking the presentation of the sixth edition of a study on Italy’s gambling sector.
Lollobrigida said a new platform often appeared immediately after another was blocked. He called for tools to check user activity and identify people using illegal offerings, while saying he was not advocating criminal liability for players.
Recent direct checks found gambling platforms where registration required only an email address, not an identity document, he said. Some illegal operators used methods to attract players that could reach young people and minors, while the same players could use both legal and illegal services.
Lollobrigida called for greater concessionaire involvement in player protection, pointing to tools including player requests to limit time and gambling, activity monitoring and interventions when signs of problems appear. Players who gambled legally had reported improper conduct by illegal operators to ADM, he said, arguing that awareness of the risks of unauthorised gambling needed strengthening.
Lollobrigida said growth in online gambling was inevitable but should not mean abandoning the physical gambling network, which needed modernising. Old machines needed replacing with equipment better suited to consumers and players. He hoped the next government would prioritise the regulatory framework, including the question of territorial distribution.