Italy’s 2027 budget bill may include gaming-sector contributions, Kogem says

Italy's Council of Ministers approved the 2027 budget bill at its sitting on 28 October, and the Presidency of the Council's statement lists the gaming sector among those called on to contribute, without setting out the nature or size of individual measures. An analysis by Emanuele Sipala for Kogem, updated on 29 October and based on the Council of Ministers' statement no. 195 and on advance reports on the budget, examined the possible effects on the sector.

According to Kogem, the advance reports mention measures that could affect the excise duty on gaming machines, extensions of land-based gaming concessions and some arrangements for organising and managing gaming products. The analysis said these indications must be checked against the text of the bill and its technical report, to separate the expected financial effects from the actual economic consequences across the supply chain.

Among the measures anticipated is a possible increase in the Prelievo erariale unico (PREU) applied to AWP and VLT machines. Sipala said the levy applies to stakes rather than to the net economic result of the activity, so even limited changes in rates can have significant consequences for the economic balance of those involved. The analysis said the impact should be considered across the chain's economic relationships, from the concessionaire to operators and venue owners, and that how effects are distributed depends on contractual structure, revenue sharing and the ability of the various operators to absorb further costs.

A second area concerns possible new onerous extensions of betting, bingo and amusement machine concessions. The advance reports mention an extension to 2029, but Sipala said the duration and economic conditions must be verified in the legislative text. The analysis said an onerous extension allows the State to obtain new resources while ensuring continuity of existing activities, but repeated use of the instrument raises questions about investment planning and the stability of the regulatory framework.

On online gaming, the analysis said a separate assessment applies following the award of new ADM concessions. The renewal involved significant financial commitments for operators, in addition to investment to comply with new technical and organisational rules, and the economic sustainability of that investment is closely tied to predictability of regulatory and tax conditions. Changes to the tax regime, particularly if introduced shortly after the new concessions begin, could affect the economic assessments behind participation in the tenders, according to the analysis, which said this does not mean excluding tax measures but considering their effects against an already defined framework of obligations and investment.

Kogem also addressed the function of public gaming in the Italian legal order, saying the concession system lets the State organise and control authorised supply subject to requirements on security, transaction traceability, anti-money-laundering prevention and consumer protection. The analysis said a progressive rise in costs and charges for authorised operators could, under certain conditions, affect the competitiveness of legal supply against unauthorised circuits, while stating that this risk is not an automatic consequence of every tax measure. Sipala said tax policies and policies against illegality should be treated as parts of an overall strategy, so that objectives pursued separately do not produce conflicting effects.

The analysis said the contribution requested from the sector by the 2027 budget law should be examined in light of expected revenue, operators' economic sustainability and the system's ability to maintain a competitive and controlled supply. It said the technical report accompanying the bill will be a key document for understanding how the financial effects of the measures are quantified, including expected revenue, the economic assumptions used to estimate it and any effects on the different market segments. Sipala wrote that the need to secure resources for state finances is a legitimate objective, but that achieving it should be accompanied by careful assessment of the economic conditions of the sector asked to contribute.