Microgame CEO says Italian retail and online gambling will converge

Marco Castaldo, who is CEO of Microgame, took part in two panels. The panels were held on the opening day of SiGMA World 2026.

Castaldo described the past year as one of transition under Italy's online gambling reform. He said the full effects of the reform have not yet appeared and will be seen from 15 February, when the technical rules take effect. He said Microgame is satisfied in both B2B and B2C, having integrated several brands without losing margins. Castaldo said he does not yet see significant effects on the PVR sector. He praised ADM for its circular on PVR top-ups. He said the sector is increasingly in the hands of large groups, while the rest of the market is fragmented and finds it hard to develop. He added that the investment needed to comply with the technical rules is an extra cost that falls on suppliers.

On the second panel, Castaldo said the friction between the retail and online channels tends to sharpen because of the heavier tax burden on physical gambling. He said the two sectors are destined to converge, although obstacles remain. In his assessment, the market is at a multichannel stage and not yet an omnichannel one. He said betting is the same product with different ways of use. He said machines and casinos are products with intrinsically different characteristics. Castaldo said many people name regulation as the main obstacle to omnichannel. He said there are other obstacles too, of an organisational and technical nature. On the technical side, he said player information is currently held in separate silos. He said a platform is needed to bring together retail and online data.

Castaldo said regulation will never keep pace with both physical and online gambling. He called for the industry to be creative and to encourage the regulator to open up to different approaches.