Vaccari criticises proposed Italian gambling measures and three scratchcards

Stefano Vaccari, a member of parliament for the Partito Democratico and secretary of the Chamber of Deputies' presidency, criticised proposed gambling measures in Italy's 2027 budget, according to a statement he gave to the press. Vaccari said the budget again seeks revenue from gambling, with possible increases in the levy on slot machines and VLTs, costly extensions of concessions and even a fifth Lotto draw.

Vaccari also said three new scratchcards priced at €5, €10 and €20 were planned, with the promise of million-euro wins. He cited state revenue of €11.4bn from gambling in 2025 and an estimated 1.5 million people in Italy with problematic gambling behaviour.

Vaccari said the state cannot claim it wants to counter the harm of gambling while increasingly counting on that revenue to fund public spending. He called for prevention, treatment and policies that reduce risk rather than new opportunities to bet.