AGIC, the association bringing together the main concession operators in the public gaming sector, expresses strong concern over the data contained in the 2026 Report to Parliament on addiction, which documents an increase in minors’ involvement in gambling — a phenomenon that is by definition illegal, given the ban on access for minors — and a broader spread of behavioural addictions, from digital addiction to online and land-based gambling.
Against this backdrop, AGIC hopes for the full completion of the regulatory reorganisation process for the sector, particularly with regard to the land-based network, launched by the Government itself through the 2023 tax delegation and already implemented for the online segment.
This is a process that also, and above all, responds to the objective of protecting the most vulnerable individuals: without its completion, and without a regulatory framework for the legal offer that is constantly updated and aligned with technological innovation, the risks for the most vulnerable groups — starting with minors — are set to increase compared with those already highlighted in the Report. Completing the reorganisation therefore means strengthening precisely the prevention and protection tools that the Report itself calls for.
AGIC stresses that legal gambling, with its identification, traceability and spending-limit tools, remains the most effective instrument for detecting at-risk behaviours and directing people towards protection pathways — a role that can only be fulfilled if the regulated system is not progressively eroded to the benefit of the illegal market.
AGIC confirms its willingness to contribute, with data and expertise, to the development of genuinely effective policies to combat addiction and protect citizens, particularly younger people.
“We are not operating within a perfectly sealed perimeter. The external variable is the aggressiveness of the illegal market, driven by technological evolution, which is increasingly penetrating the legal market.”
This was underlined by Gennaro Schettino, president of AGIC, during the I-Com conference.
The regulated gambling industry plays a key role not only from an economic perspective but also for its social and regulatory implications, as it represents a significant component of the national economy: in 2024, net expenditure reached €21 billion, while tax revenues exceeded €11 billion.
Yesterday morning, at the Hotel Nazionale in Piazza Montecitorio, the event “Legal Market and Public Gaming: The Role of the Industry”
