Italy’s 2027 budget bill raises proposed AWP and VLT tax rates
Regulation3 min read
Italy’s 2027 budget bill proposes changes to gaming-machine rules, as outlined in a dossier published by the Chamber of Deputies’ and Senate’s research services. The bill would set the AWP tax rate at 25% and the VLT rate at 9.60%; AWP machines with payouts of at least 70% could qualify for a 20% rate, subject to voluntary participation and technical approval.
Italy’s proposed 2027 budget would raise taxes on AWP and VLT gaming machines by one percentage point, according to a dossier from the research services of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. The proposed rates are 25% of stakes for AWPs and 9.60% for VLTs.
AWPs returning at least 70% in winnings could qualify for a reduced rate of 20% of stakes. Participation would be voluntary and require software updates, verification, certification, approval and authorisation. Certified AWPs currently must return at least 65% in winnings over each cycle, which can run to 140,000 plays. The relief is proposed pending replacement of the machines with systems allowing play only remotely.
The bill would raise the maximum AWP stake per game from €1 to €2 and the maximum payout from €100 to €200. The explanatory memorandum says the changes are intended to account for living costs, align the limits with other land-based games and counter a shift in demand to illegal or other gambling. It attributes a decline in stakes to fewer machines, location and operating-hour restrictions, online gambling and lower investment in product development. The technical memorandum estimates that the tax changes and AWP relief would raise an additional €334m in 2027, €365m in 2028 and €456m in 2029.
For amusement machines without cash prizes, the bill would raise the maximum cost per game from €1 to €2, including for mechanical claw machines. Their maximum prize value would rise from €20 to €40, at 20 times the cost of a game. A permanent regularisation procedure would cover specified categories of non-cash-prize machines still installed on 31 December 2026. It is aimed particularly at machines installed before 1 January 2003, whose temporary permits expire on 31 December 2026.
Applicants would have to submit a self-certification to ADM within 60 days of the law taking effect and pay €1,000 per machine by 30 April 2027. Machines not regularised on time would lose their provisional permits and be confiscated. A machine installed at an address other than the one declared would incur an administrative penalty of €100 to €500. A device whose characteristics differ from those certified would incur a €4,000 penalty per machine. The technical memorandum estimates that the one-off regularisation payment would raise €15m in 2027.
The bill would create rules for e-games without cash prizes delivered digitally through internet platforms. The rules would cover pure-skill and entertainment machines on local networks in dedicated venues, connected remotely to online platforms, as well as specified consoles, simulators and computers. The machines would be subject to identification, registration and control requirements, with ADM to set the technical rules.
Opening e-games venues and installing playing stations would depend on authorisations valid for two years, issued by ADM. Authorisation payments would be €200 for each gaming machine used, €1,000 for each LAN venue, €2,000 for each game offered and €10,000 for each internet platform used. Tournament conditions would be set by ADM, while implementing measures would establish participation rules and caps on entry fees and prizes; any contribution to the agency’s control costs could not exceed 8% of participation fees. At least twenty machines or playing stations would be required, alongside layouts that help players notice time passing and an outright ban on taking bets. Access for minors would be conditional on the operator ensuring they can use only games suited to their age group.
An 8% entertainment tax would apply to a standard annual taxable base of €15,000 per machine or, where a machine serves multiple stations, per station. For large simulators and their individual stations, the annual taxable base would be €25,000. Operators of qualifying venues already open when the law takes effect would have 60 days to submit a declaration to ADM, including details of their equipment, platforms and games. After payment of the entertainment tax, the declaration would allow activity to continue provisionally, subject to checks, but would lapse 60 days after ADM adopts implementing measures.