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An Italian ban on gambling marketing has not had the dramatic effect some had feared, but the market faces a new challenge from a “game changer” decree that sets what might be the highest online licensing fees in Europe, attorneys have said.
In Italy, the second-biggest online gambling market in Europe after the UK, sports-betting gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose 13 percent last year to €1.5bn, while online casino grew 15 percent, according to lawyers from DLA Piper’s Milan office.
Many licensees developed advertising alternatives such as informational news and video websites, and online gambling in general got a boost from players who may have been lured from shops to online during COVID-19 lockdowns, said attorney Giulio Coraggio.
The Italian regulator also seemed to tolerate marketing more than previously, while focusing on sanctions for influencers, he said.
The new regime is a “game changer” for online gambling, bringing €7m in one-time fees for nine-year licences, with current licences set to expire at the end of this year, Coraggio said.
Due to costs, mergers and acquisitions are likely, he said.
The legislative goal may have been to eliminate smaller operators that are difficult to regulate, or to get them to form joint ventures or merge, Coraggio said.
A six-month tender period is expected, although it might take longer to launch than officials expect, as complications include that technical rules have not yet been published, said attorney Vincenzo Giuffre.
Licensees will pay 3 percent of GGR net of gambling taxes for an annual fee and must dedicate 0.2 percent of the same figure to responsible gambling campaigns.
They might be tempted to advertise their brands in responsible gambling marketing, but those campaigns must be approved by the Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM), Coraggio said.
The new system has no upper limit on licences, but officials expect 45 to 50 licences, the lawyers said.
Only one Italian domain name and one app are allowed, and white-label websites are barred, as they must be managed by the licensee, the duo said.
Business-to-business licences are not required, although games require approval.
Start-ups are discouraged, as licensees must have been previously established in the European Economic Area with revenues of at least €3m in the past two fiscal years.
The Italian decree was published in the official gazette on April 3 and provisions will be submitted to the European Union for approval.
