Our Guide to the Best Online Casinos in Italy

The Italian online casino market is currently thriving, with many successful casino brands accepting Italian players. Given the abundance of gambling sites currently available in Italy, it might be hard for you to pick a casino site to sign up to. This is where we come in – Our expert team has spent hours sifting through Italy online casinos to bring you the very best ones on the web. In case you’re wondering whether any of the above sites are the right fit for you, our team has created a handy Italy casino guide to show you what to expect from our trusted sites: 

Top-Notch Safety and Security 

Nothing beats playing your favorite casino games online with complete peace of mind, knowing your personal data and banking details are completely protected. When it comes to online gambling, safety is our first priority, which is why we only approve casino sites that are licensed by the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), Italy’s gambling regulator.

Our Italy online casinos comply by the ADM’s strict security requirements, which means that players’ details are protected by SSL encryption, and casino games are audited for fairness. On top of that, our trusted online casinos in Italy take responsible gaming very seriously and employ various measures against gambling addiction and underage gambling. Whichever site you pick from our Italy online casino list, you’re guaranteed a safe and legitimate gaming experience.

Superb Bonuses and Regular Promotions

We would never list an Italian casino site on this page if it didn’t give you a warm welcome with a generous new player bonus. Bonuses are one of the biggest perks of online gambling, so we vet each casino site accepting Italian players to make sure it offers great bonuses with fair wagering requirements.

Whether you’re into no deposit bonuses, cash back or free spins, our premium casino sites have it all. And the fun doesn’t stop with your welcome bonus – you can enjoy plenty of daily and weekly promotions long after you’ve signed up. Oftentimes, loyal members at our Italy online casinos can also enrol in a VIP programme which offers exclusive gifts and personalized customer support.

Massive Selection of Casino Games 

Italian online casino players love table games, and slot machines have also become a big hit in Italy, which is why we only recommend casino sites with a huge variety of these games. Once you hit the games lobby, expect casino classics like blackjack, European roulette, and craps, and hundreds of slot machines. You can also enjoy speciality games like Keno, scratch cards, and several video poker titles. 

Some of the popular software developers you’ll come across at our casinos include NetEnt, IGT, Aristocrat, Microgaming and Bally Technologies. Such prominent names are a sure guarantee that you’ll be playing casino games of the highest quality. 

Variety of Quick Payment Options

It goes without saying that an online casino accepting Italy players should offer a vast range of deposit and withdrawal methods. Each site on our list features debit and credit cards, e-Wallets such as Skrill and PayPal, and easy prepaid cards like Postepay. We wouldn’t list a casino on this page if it did not offer popular Italian banking options and support the euro currency. 

Depositing and withdrawing cash should also be quick and convenient, so we ensure all our approved casino sites are fast and efficient in this respect. Everyone wants to stick to their preferred payment method, and no one wants to wait forever when it comes to withdrawing their winnings. 

Online Gambling in Italy – An Overview

If you have a look at the gambling regulations by country, most of Europe was reacting to the online revolution with bans and prohibitive legislation, Italy swam against the tide and began to liberalise and regulate the industry.

In 2006 the government introduced regulations which allowed operators to offer sports betting both in retail locations and online. Regulations were also put in place for remote and online betting, but there were restrictions. The government made AAMS (Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies) responsible for issuing licences and administrating the industry.

Initially any operator looking to do business in Italy had to apply for a licence, but a stipulation was that they must use a .it domain and their servers must be located within Italian borders. The AAMS compiled a blacklist of more than 500 ‘illegal’ sites, which it obliged Internet Service Providers to block by law. This quickly changed in 2007 after EU proceedings were initiated against Italy for blocking those domains, and the Italian government sent proposals to Brussels to make the legislation more EU-friendly.

The proposals removed the need for operators to establish an Italian company or house their servers in the country, and in 2009 the ‘Abruzzo Decree’ brought about the biggest revolution in the Italian gaming industry. The legislation made fixed odds games of chance legal, as well as poker and ring games. It included a mandate for the AAMS to regulate betting exchanges, virtual events, and video lottery games; and most importantly, a new tax regime for the newly legalized games.

The tax change may not sound of paramount importance, but it was a vital piece of legislation. Previously betting activities had been taxed on a turnover-based regime, which remains for sports betting, lotteries and skill-based games, but the newly legalized games of chance were subject to 20% tax based on profit. What it meant was that a wider variety of games could be offered to the Italian public, which would not have been possible with the more restrictive tax regime.

Recent Developments in Italy’s Online Gambling Scene

By 2011 the licensing application process was updated, and operators were also allowed to offer poker games and casino games (excluding slots). Poker came with restrictions though, and tournaments were only allowed up to a €250 buy-in limit, while at least 90% of the total pot should be returned to the players. Real money slot machines were finally legalized in 2012, and they have become the single biggest growth area in the Italian Gambling industry ever since.

AAMS was then dissolved, and all gambling authorities were handed over to l’Agenzia delle Dogane December 1^st, 2012. The agency was renamed to Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), which is Italy’s customs and monopoly agency under the authority of the Ministry of Finance.

In the same year, general gambling advertising rules were introduced under the “Balduzzi” decree, and more recently, even stricter rules have been implemented for advertisements relating to games with cash prizes.

At the end of 2015, the Stability Law ruled out gambling advertisements that encourage problematic or excessive gambling, deny the risk inherent in gambling, and fail to make explicit the terms and conditions of bonuses and incentives. In a bid to protect minors, the law also prohibited advertisements of games with cash wins on “generic programs” from 7 AM to 10 PM.

The Italian Budget Law, approved in 2019, has continued to increase taxation on several gambling products, including online betting (from 22 to 24% GGR), offline betting (from 18 to 20% GGR), online bingo and skills games (from 20 to 25% GGR). 

The new law has also blocked payments towards unlicensed gambling operators. Credit cards, banking, and financial operators will be prohibited from transferring gambling related amounts towards unlicensed operators offering their bets/games in Italy. These changes have been introduced by the Italian government with the purpose of increasing the potential tax entries from the gambling sector. Some industry experts have criticized these recent changes, stating that the law will allow illegal markets to flourish. However, only time can tell what long-term effects the implementation of the Budget Law will have. 

This has also had a positive impact in other countries like Spain or Canada as operators have tried to move towards different legislations

Revenue from Online Gambling

Since the start of liberalisation, the Italian gambling industry has become one of the largest in the world, with total revenues in 2014 reaching an eye-watering €728 million.

The landscape of the gaming sector has changed considerably during this period of reform, and online slots have seen monumental growth since they were made legal in 2012. Betting on Horse Racing has been in continual decline, with the AMD reporting a 17% drop in revenue in 2011, while poker has suffered considerably, losing approximately a third of revenue in 2013. By contrast the AMD recorded an 80% in casino games profits – thanks largely to the increasing popularity of slot machines.

Overall gambling revenue increased by 21% from 2015 to 2016. As of 2017, Italy’s gambling industry is worth €80 billion per year, and around 10% is allocated to the national budget. 

The Future of Online Gambling in Italy 

With relatively relaxed laws towards gambling, Italy is one step ahead of the majority of mainland Europe, and it has demonstrated how to develop a thriving sector while collecting considerable revenue for the government in taxation. While we’re yet to see how the recent increase in taxation will affect the gambling sector, Italian online casinos continue to thrive and this trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Join An Online Casino in Italy Today

Now that you know the ins and outs of Italy’s online gambling landscape, it’s time to join one of our trusted casino sites from the list above. Each site has been selected by our expert gambling team for its great welcome package, strict security measures, variety of casino games, and top customer support. We always ensure our Italy online casinos are a cut above the rest, so take your pick from our curated casino list and sign up today!