Caritas urges Italy to remove gambling measures from 2027 budget
Regulation3 min read
Caritas Italiana urged lawmakers to withdraw gambling provisions in Italy’s 2027 budget and redirect resources towards prevention. The measures include raising the maximum AWP stake from €1 to €2 and the maximum prize from €100 to €200, while reducing the tax levy on qualifying machines from 25% to 20%. Caritas also cited estimates that slot stakes could reach €16.8bn in 2029, against €12.9bn under unchanged rules.
Gambling expansion measures should be removed from Italy’s 2027 budget, with resources directed to prevention and treatment, Caritas Italiana said. Its submission warned that the measures would broaden the public gambling offering without adequate action to prevent and combat addiction.
Article 23 would raise the maximum stake on AWP machines, found mainly in bars and tobacconists, from €1 to €2 and the maximum prize from €100 to €200. It would cut the tax levy from 25% to 20% for machines that return at least 70% of stakes in prizes.
The proposals would add a weekly Lotto and SuperEnalotto draw, halve the minimum distance between bingo halls and extend betting, machine, bingo and instant lottery concessions to 2029. The extension would be accompanied by preferential settlement terms for concessionaires' debts relating to 2015.
Article 25 would establish LAN halls for electronic gaming with at least 20 terminals and allow under-18s to enter. Caritas called for minors to be excluded, citing the risk of early exposure to gambling-like environments and mechanisms. The halls would not offer cash prizes, but Caritas said they could bring young people closer to gambling-related settings and practices. Caritas said the LAN hall rules lacked time limits, trained staff and links to education and prevention policies.
The budget's technical assessment estimates slot stakes at about €16.8bn in 2029, compared with €12.9bn if the rules remain unchanged. Caritas contrasted the proposed LAN hall rules with the €3m in public funding allocated in the 2027 budget to educational poverty.
Citing economy ministry and ADM data, Caritas said €165.3bn was wagered in Italy in 2025, up 5% from 2024. More than €100bn was wagered online during the year. Player losses were nearly €22bn and state revenue reached €11.5bn in 2025.
Caritas Ambrosiana put wagers at more than €26bn in Lombardy and more than €15bn in the diocese of Milan. Caritas di Roma put the volume wagered in Rome at €8.5bn, or more than €3,000 per resident, including nearly €1.4bn through video lottery terminals and slots.
Gambling leaves many families vulnerable, according to Caritas Italiana’s experience at its listening centres. Reported consequences include mounting debts, informal borrowing, exposure to usury and strained family relationships. Addictions affect 3.3% of people encountered at the centres, a share that has risen by a third over ten years. Nearly nine out of ten people with addictions have needs in at least three areas.
Almost a million students had gambled online in the previous year, according to the Espad Italia 2025 survey cited by Caritas. The survey put the number at risk at over 170 thousand, with approximately 130 thousand already showing a problematic profile.
Caritas said complete gambling data, particularly online and municipal figures, were not published systematically. It said the lack of accessible data and independent monitoring limited local authorities and services in planning targeted prevention. Caritas asked for regular publication of stakes and losses, including online and municipal data, and restoration of an independent health ministry observatory with social organisations participating.
Caritas called for a fixed share of gambling revenue to fund prevention, treatment and anti-usury funds. It also proposed a national gambling-risk awareness day coordinated with schools and local services. Caritas Italiana and participating diocesan groups promoted a campaign on 31 May 2026 with events in 34 cities to raise awareness of gambling risks.