Italy’s Council of Ministers approves 2027 budget with €700m from gaming

Italy's Council of Ministers approved the 2027 budget law, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at a press conference after the meeting. The draft now goes to Parliament, which must complete final approval by 31 December, with entry into force set for 1 January 2027.

Meloni said the budget is worth about €26bn overall, and that €700m comes from the gaming sector. The source also reports the package at between €23.5bn and €26bn, with the new budget law package put at €23.5bn.

Meloni said the budget confirms all measures included in the previous budget law, which would have ended at the end of this year, a package she put at about €9bn on its own.

According to the source, the budget rests on a national safeguard clause for defence and energy worth €14.4bn, alongside cuts to ministry spending and savings linked to the Pnrr. It also includes a contribution from the financial sector, particularly banks and insurers, from which the government aims to raise about €5bn, and changes to tobacco excise duties.

The source reports that the banking sector has expressed strong dissent over new contributions, citing the three-year €10bn agreement signed with the government last year.

Among the gaming measures discussed, the source lists a possible increase of up to one percentage point in the Prelievo Erariale Unico (PREU), applied in particular to VLTs and slots. It also reports a possible extension of retail concessions for betting, slots, VLTs and bingo for between two and three years, with amounts requested from operators higher than in past renewals.

Other options reported include a regularisation measure for esports and virtual gaming halls, recovery of outstanding debt from the slot machine chain linked to the extraordinary levy introduced in 2015 by the Renzi government, and inclusion of the Gratta e Vinci concession expiring in September 2028 in a three-year extension with a payment based on the future tender base. Limited adjustments to online gaming are also under discussion, subject to compatibility with the principle of fiscal invariance.

The source states that none of the interventions are definitive decisions yet. Amendments may be presented during the parliamentary process to adjust funding and modify individual articles.