Italian tax agency that operates as a regulatory authority, under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
ADM manages the monopoly of Public Gaming directly or through companies selected with public evidence procedures. It thus exercises the State’s control over the sector, guaranteeing compliance with rules and legality to protect players and the interests of the Treasury through the collection of taxes.
Electronic devices that offer skill, chance, or entertainment games, regulated by ADM and managed by authorized licensees.
Both AWP (Amusement With Prizes) and VLT (Video Lottery Terminals) fall under the definition of ADI.
AWPs are commonly installed in bars, tobacconists, arcades, betting agencies, and other authorized public establishments, while VLTs are found in specialized establishments such as betting agencies, arcades, and bingo halls.
Entertainment devices with cash prizes, connected to the telematic network of SOGEI and approved by ADM through Certification Bodies. In each device a board is installed that interacts with the Concessionaire’s system through a “Point of Access”, called PDA.
The payout does not depend on the player’s skill, but is fixed by law at 65% of the total value played over a range between 28,000 and 42,000 games. This calculation is entrusted to the installed and ADM-certified board.
No minimum bet is foreseen, while the maximum cost of a game is equal to 1 euro.
They pay out cash prizes immediately after the end of the game.
The maximum prize is 100 euros and there is no Jackpot.
For a more complete understanding also consult the entries “VLT – Video Lottery Terminal” and “ADI – Amusement and Entertainment Devices”.
Games for money in which the win depends on the correct prediction of the progress or outcome of an event (future or in real time in the live mode), by a bettor who decides to wager a sum of money at the counters of authorized points of sale or online on authorized websites.
Linked since the 19th century to the horse racing sector and managed from the early 1900s directly by racecourses, the first forms of legal betting were opened to other sports in 1995 by the Ministry of Finance in implementation of Law no. 401 of 1989, which initially regulated illegal betting.
The real boom of sports betting came with the liberalization of the sector in 2006, when Italy opened up to online gaming, through the Bersani Decree (Legislative Decree 223/2006), which allowed operators, including foreign ones, to obtain licenses to legally offer online betting in Italy.
The total of the amounts played in a given time period.
For a more complete understanding also consult the entries “Winning – Payout” and “Spending – GGR”.
Private operator characterized by the possession of strict requirements of honorability and professionalism and by economic-financial solidity, who operates under a state concession certified by ADM, which can entrust both the management of a game (in a mono- or multi-concession regime) and its distribution.
Given the interests involved (public order, consumer protection, fraud prevention), the selection of the assignees of the concessions is carried out through European public tenders aimed at identifying one or more suitable subjects to carry out the activity.
Concessionaires operate according to precise rules and under the constant control of ADM.
Decree-Law no. 87 of 2018, entered into force in July 2019, prohibits any form of visibility/advertising, even indirect, relating to the entire sector on any means of communication.
Parameter, determined by the competent authorities, of minimum distance from so-called “sensitive” places within which establishments distributing specific public games cannot be present.
The current regulatory framework of the sector has experienced the progressive overcoming of a national regulation replaced by local legislative interventions from Regions and Municipalities, which have independently regulated the location and opening hours of points of sale, creating in fact a widespread fragmentation of regulatory measures.
In the absence of an organic reorganization of the gaming sector on the physical channel, which would make it possible to call for new tenders, the legislator has been forced to resort to the use of extensions necessary for the continuation of the public service management. With the 2024 Budget Law, a paid extension has been provided for, until December 31, 2026, of the following concessions expiring on December 31, 2024:
concessions related to bingo;
concessions regarding betting;
concessions for the realization and operation of telematic management networks of gaming through amusement and entertainment devices.
Games of chance, entrusted in single concession, based on the selection of numbers at the time of the play or on the assignment to the play of numbers determined randomly, for which the prize amount, obtained based on winning combinations, is predetermined.
All games with cash prizes, based in varying degrees on randomness.
Quantifies the real gaming spending of Italians net of winnings and is therefore given by the difference between amounts wagered and amounts won.
It is the main indicator of the entire public gaming industry and represents the amount actually retained by the gaming system.
Gross spending is divided into:
Amount destined for the Treasury (TAX), i.e., the tax levy established by law, which is applied to each individual game.
Amount destined for sector operators (or Net Gaming Revenue, NGR), such as Concessionaires, the distribution network (physical and online), and providers of additional services.
For a more complete understanding, also consult the entries “Winning – Payout” and “Collection – Turnover”.
Included in the category of illegal gaming are all activities that operate outside the public management through ADM. These activities, widespread both online and in the physical network, appear completely similar to legal ones but are devoid of any form of protection for the players who access them very often unknowingly.
Some examples can be slot machines disconnected from the telematic network, the collection of illegal bets, online gaming sites not tied to national domains (i.e., .com sites), the so-called Totems or devices for remote collection located in public establishments. Illegal activity harms players, legal public gaming concessionaires, and the State.
Known as “Scratch and Win”, entrusted in single concession.
Ticket sales are reserved for authorized points of sale, which may include Lotto retailers, tobacconists, highway service areas, bars, newsstands, and other categories of retailers displaying the distinctive sign.
Concept proposed by AGIC in replacement of the “Distance meter”, with reference to the physical networks of betting, ADI, and bingo.
Legal Distance introduces “certification” criteria for points of sale, identifying distance limitation parameters valid throughout the national territory.
Additional taxation charged to concessionaires to which are subject:
all winnings over 500 euros deriving from gaming activities on AWP and VLT with a 20% rate on the part exceeding 500 euros.
all winnings over 500 euros deriving from totalizer numerical games with a 20% rate on the part exceeding 200 euros.
all winnings, regardless of the amount won, for fixed-odds numerical games, as follows: 8% for Lotto and 11% for 10eLotto.
For a more complete understanding, also consult the entry “PREU – Single Tax Levy”.
Illegal and criminally prosecuted practice, in which a person influential within the context of a sporting event (e.g.: a player, a coach, a referee), intentionally causes a documentable occurrence (e.g.: booking, expulsion, corner kick, match result) in such a way as to guarantee winnings on bets placed by them or on behalf of third parties on that occurrence.
Concessionaires authorized to collect bets and equipped with risk management structures, so-called bookmakers, constantly collaborate with the competent authorities by reporting suspicious betting flows in order to prevent unfair bets and distorted results that can cause financial losses to bettors and damage to the concessionaires where irregular bets are placed because they are based on a fix.
Games of chance, entrusted in single concession, based on the selection of single numbers or combinations by consumers at the time of the play, or fixed-odds numerical games. The value of the prize is equal to a predetermined share of the total amount of plays, a single prize pool divided equally among winning plays belonging to the same prize category.
Points of sale that have as a main or secondary activity the commercialization of public games.
Within the physical network, a distinction is made between generalist points of sale, where gaming represents a secondary and ancillary activity, and specialized points of sale, where game collection instead represents the main activity.
Included in the physical network are the following commercial establishments:
Generalists:
Bars and lottery outlets: generalist establishments that can offer, in addition to the main services, entertainment devices (exclusively AWP), national totalizer numerical games, instant and deferred lotteries.
Tobacconists and bar/tobacconists: in addition to what is offered in Bars, they can be authorized to collect fixed-odds numerical games.
Specialized:
Dedicated arcades: premises specifically intended for the offer of games, equipped with both types of amusement and entertainment devices, i.e., AWP and VLT (Video Lottery Terminals).
Betting agencies: structures authorized for the collection of bets on sporting, horse racing, and other events, both real and simulated.
Bingo halls: premises dedicated to the game of bingo, regulated according to current regulations and which can also host other authorized games such as AWP or VLT.
Single tax levy charged to concessionaires applied to VLT and AWP devices and based on the amounts played, introduced with the 2001 Finance Law. From an initial rate of 13.5% on AWP and 5% on VLT, the PREU has undergone numerous changes over time to increase tax revenue from the public gaming sector. Currently, the rates are set at 24% for AWP and 8.6% for VLT.
For a more complete understanding also consult the entry “Luck Tax”.
Correct expression to indicate the economic and productive sector of lawful gaming in Italy, that is, the State gaming supply chain. Also defined as “Legal Gaming.” Legal gaming in Italy is prohibited to minors under 18. In specialized points of sale, access is also prohibited to minors.
Network of online platforms, requiring the opening of an account and a related game account upon verification of identity and age and setting of play limits by the player.
All legal platforms are distinguished from illegal ones thanks to the ADM logo and the license identification number displayed on the homepage.
The following gaming activities belong to this category:
Online Betting
sports: national and international sporting events
horse racing: bets on horse races
non-sporting events: entertainment, politics, and showbiz events
virtual: based on simulated events with random number generators
eSports: competitive video game events and competitions
Skill Games, poker and card games at a distance
Poker cash: poker games with direct bets
Tournament poker: mode in which players pay an entry fee to participate
Other online card games: blackjack, scopa, burraco, and briscola in digital version
Online Casino
Slot machines: games with progressive or fixed jackpots
Roulette: in French, American, and European variants
Blackjack: challenges against the dealer with different variants
Baccarat
Other table games
Online Bingo
Digital versions of bingo, with real-time draws
Lotteries and numerical games at a distance online
Set of principles, practices, and activities that companies implement to promote a conscious and controlled approach to public gaming and to prevent pathological gambling. Particularly active on online players, these activities help players to be aware of their gaming patterns, also through informative materials about the risks and to be able to pre-regulate them with limitations, such as self-exclusion.
Considered an evolution of traditional AWP, they are gaming terminals, installable only in specialized venues, without an internal game board but connected in real time to a Central System that determines the outcome of each game in a centralized and random manner.
The Payout of each individual installed game cannot be less than 83% of the total sums played calculated over a cycle of about 5,000,000 bets.
The minimum bet is 0.10 euro, the maximum is 10 euros.
The maximum prize provided, excluding the jackpot, is 5,000 euros.
The attribution of the jackpot does not in any way depend on the gaming strategy adopted by the player or on the amount of the bets made. There are two different jackpots: the National Jackpot (maximum value 500,000 euros) and the single hall Jackpot (maximum value 100,000 euros).
For a more complete understanding, also consult the entries “ADI” and “AWP – Amusement With Prizes”.
Indicates the cash received by players as winnings. It is expressed as a percentage value of the collection.
The Payout is determined by the Regulator for gaming and gambling categories and by bookmakers for the section relating to betting on real events.
For a more complete understanding, also consult the entries “Collection – Turnover” and “Spending – GGR”.
