EGP-FIPE president Emmanuele Cangianelli called for Italy to reorganise its gambling sector, harmonise its rules and strengthen player protection. He made the remarks at an industry meeting organised with Brightstar Lottery Italia at I-Com.
Harmonised rules and stronger player protections could affect gambling operators across Italy.
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At a conference on reorganising physical gambling in Italy, EGP-FIPE president Emmanuele Cangianelli called for new concession rules to reflect market changes and operators’ economic viability. He cited growth in online gambling spending, uncertainty over regulation and the costs of future concessions, but the source gives no figures for those trends or costs.
Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) published its investment plan for 2026–2028. EGP-FIPE welcomed the plan and called for significant investment in retail digitalisation, saying modern tools could support traceability, consumer protection and links between land-based and online gambling.
EGP-FIPE and FederBingo said Italy's 2027 budget measures could lead to 71 of 181 active bingo halls closing, or 93 if 2027 liquidity problems are included. They estimate a €72.5m negative fiscal balance, potentially €149m with liquidity crises, and called for changes to concession charges, retroactive calculations, debt repayment and gaming-machine tax.
EGP-FIPE and FederBingo warned in a note that articles 23 and 27 of Italy's 2027 Budget Bill risk causing the physical bingo network to disappear.
EGP-FIPE warned that a further tax increase on gaming machines could make at least 20% of specialist gaming halls uneconomic. The association said the government measures under consideration for the 2027 budget could include a one-percentage-point rise in the tax on slots and VLTs, alongside a three-year extension of several concessions; these remain proposals described in press reports.
EGP-FIPE, which represents public establishments offering licensed games, said a higher tax on gaming machines would make managing at least 20% of specialist halls uneconomic, affecting jobs and the licensed physical network. The association said its estimate followed press previews of measures the government is studying within the 2027 budget manoeuvre.
Italy's public gambling turnover reached €164.6bn in 2025, up 4.55% from 2024, according to a report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance submitted to Parliament. The report put tax revenue at about €11.4bn; AWP and VLT turnover fell from €46.5bn in 2019 to about €31.4bn in 2025. EGP-FIPE president Emmanuele Cangianelli called for progress on reform of the land-based gambling network.