Italy retail gambling overhaul stalls after Meloni's office rejects decree

Italy's long-awaited reorganisation of land-based gambling has stalled after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office rejected the final draft of the Decreto di Riordino del Gioco Fisico last week and returned it to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) for further review. According to reports, the draft has been dropped from this year's legislative agenda, a setback for a reform that had been under negotiation for two years.

The dispute between Rome and the regions

The breakdown centres on a conflict between the MEF and the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces. The ministry wanted a single national framework covering minimum distances, operating hours, venue certification and concession requirements, while the proposed reform also aimed to standardise oversight under the ADM. The broader package was intended to add a national definition of sensitive locations, a national operator registry, updated advertising rules and technical standards for next-generation gaming machines. The regions resisted, arguing that gambling is a public health matter and that local authorities should retain control. Alfredo Mantovano, undersecretary to the presidency, said any decree ultimately approved will preserve existing distance protections that keep gambling venues away from schools and other sensitive locations.

The reform was already on a tight timetable, with Meloni hoping to complete the retail restructuring before the government's fiscal delegation powers expire on August 29. Even after the Council of Ministers approves a decree, it still needs sign-off from the State-Regions Conference and parliamentary committees, making that deadline increasingly unlikely. Morgan Stanley has suggested that without renewed political negotiations, the retail overhaul could slip by another one to two years.

Concessions, revenue and industry pressure

The impasse also jeopardises new retail concession tenders for betting shops, slot machine venues and bingo halls. Talks before the breakdown had focused on compensation terms for regional authorities, but unresolved distance restrictions complicate the identification of compliant sites and have previously triggered operator lawsuits over concession processes. The fiscal stakes are significant: concession auctions were projected to raise between €1.8 billion and €2 billion in upfront licensing revenue. In the meantime, existing retail concessions will be extended through December 31, 2026.

Industry association AGIC, whose members include Flutter Entertainment, Lottomatica, Entain, bet365 and Brightstar, warned that repeated extensions have left the regulated retail market without long-term certainty for nearly a decade, discouraging investment and delaying modernisation. Separately, Senator Paolo Marcheschi's Bill 1902 proposes a 2 per cent tax on all football bets in Italy from January 1, 2027, with funds redirected from existing tax proceeds to support the sport.

With Parliament reconvening in September and the 2027 Budget likely to dominate, Meloni has limited room to revisit one of her coalition's most contentious regulatory disputes before the next general election. Leaving the matter unresolved risks further pressure on the courts, which already face a backlog of cases related to concession extensions and conflicts between state licensing goals and municipal planning rules.