UIF reports gaming represents 1.2% of cash-notice entities in Italy

Betting, lotteries and other gambling activities accounted for 1.2% of entities classified by economic activity in objective cash-operation notices in the first half of 2026, according to the Quaderni dell'antiriciclaggio published by Italy's Unità di Informazione Finanziaria per l'Italia (UIF). The share covers legal persons and sole traders for which an Ateco code is available, within the distribution of entities involved in the notices.

Retail trade held the largest share at 33.4%, followed by restaurant services at 16.5% and wholesale trade at 8.7%. Gambling activities stood at the same level as administrative and business support activities, both at 1.2%.

In total, objective notices received by the UIF in the first half of 2026 covered 21.2 million cash transactions worth €110.3bn. Compared with the same period of 2025, amounts fell 4.2% and the number of transactions fell 3.7%, while the average transaction value was €5,204, down 0.5%. The UIF said the contraction mainly concerned overall volumes moved, with the average value of individual transactions broadly stable.

Objective notices are sent by obliged intermediaries under set criteria and concern cash transactions reaching certain monthly thresholds. They are distinct from suspicious transaction reports, which rest on different grounds and purposes, the UIF said.

On supervision, the UIF opened 12 inspections in the first half of 2026, none of them involving gaming service providers. The statistics record five inspections of that category in 2024 and five in 2025, plus one documentary check in 2024. The figures cover only inspections carried out directly by the UIF and do not necessarily include checks by other competent authorities.

The UIF said the presence of gambling activities among the entities counted shows their participation in the flows subject to reporting, and does not allow conclusions on the actual spread of money-laundering in the sector. The report more generally confirms a continuing reduction in cash operations across the Italian financial system.