Italian budget bill proposes extending betting and machine concessions to 2029

Italy's 2027 budget bill proposes extending concessions for land-based betting and for the telematic management of AWP and VLT machines to 31 December 2029, according to the technical report attached to Article 26 of the draft law. The current concessions are due to expire on 31 December 2026. The report estimates the extension would raise about €843m over 2027–2029, or €281m a year, with concessionaires paying fees that differ by sector.

For land-based sports, horse-racing and non-sports betting, including simulated events, the report applies a 50% increase to the extension charges set by law 207/2024. The reference network comprises 5,693 rights at points where gambling products are the main activity and 4,180 rights for ancillary activity; assuming a 2% reduction, the government counts 5,579 main-activity points and 4,096 ancillary ones. The annual fee is €14,250 per main-activity right and €8,550 per ancillary right, giving €79,500,750 and €35,020,800 a year respectively, or €114,521,550 a year and €343,564,650 over the three years.

For AWP telematic network concessionaires, the extension fee is €150 for each operating authorisation held at 30 November 2026, derived from a 50% increase on the €100 fee for issuing the authorisation, which is tied to the individual machine rather than the concession's duration. The report assumes 243,000 authorisations at the reference date, giving €36,450,000 over the three-year extension. Payment is split into nine instalments, three in each of 2027, 2028 and 2029, due on 15 March, 15 July and 1 October; each instalment would total €4,050,000, for annual revenue of €12,150,000.

For VLTs, the fee for maintaining each right during the three-year extension is €7,500. The report builds this from the €15,000 originally set for issuing the installation right under a nine-year concession, increased by 50% to €22,500 and then prorated to three years against the original nine. Assuming 61,737 VLT rights at 30 November 2026, total revenue is €463,027,500, also payable in nine instalments due on 15 March, 15 July and 1 October of each year; the mathematical split gives instalments of €51,447,500 and an annual total of €154,342,500, which the report rounds to €51.45m and €154.35m.

The report notes that the number of betting rights is already the result of a prudent estimate, while the AWP and VLT figures rest on the assumed number of titles at 30 November 2026, so actual revenue will depend on the rights actually covered by the extension. Article 26 also provides that a measure by the director of the Agenzia delle dogane e dei monopoli will set the financial guarantees concessionaires must provide, proportionate to the extension's duration and sufficient to secure payment of the concession charges.