As.Tro warns Italy’s 2027 budget could threaten physical gaming businesses

The technical committee of the Italian gaming association As.Tro met to review the parts of the draft 2027 budget law that concern the gaming sector. The report on the meeting carries the date 03 November 2026. As.Tro voiced strong concern about the overall sustainability of the measures in the budget.

The meeting looked at the possible effects of the PREU increases planned for AWP and VLT machines. The discussion drew partly on first economic simulations prepared by CGIA Mestre. As.Tro said it will collect further analyses from CGIA Mestre in the coming days. These are meant to examine, case by case, the relationship between collection and turnover where between 20% and 60% of machines are modified.

As.Tro said the measures come amid a progressive decline in collection and restrictions from local rules. It also cited higher operating costs, particularly for energy and fuel. According to As.Tro, the investment costs of adapting individual machines may prove hard to bear for a significant share of operators. For machines without cash prizes, the committee identified problems that, without corrections, could compromise the operating continuity of numerous businesses in the sector.

On bingo, As.Tro said the combination of the tax measures and higher concession charges in the budget could leave more than 50% of bingo halls at risk of closure. As.Tro invited Italo Marcotti, president of Federbingo – Confindustria SIT, to take part in the work of its technical committee.

The committee is due to meet again on Friday 6 November to define and share a package of interventions. As.Tro said the aim is to make the budget measures more sustainable.