15% of players are unaware they are using unlicensed operators: another sign of the ineffectiveness of the Dignity Decree.
by Elisabetta Esposito – Rome
Time passes, but confusion in the betting market remains. This is the key finding of the study conducted by Luiss Business School, presented yesterday in Rome at the event “Legal Market and Public Gaming: The Role of the Industry,” organized by Agic – Confindustria (the Association for Licensed Gaming and Entertainment). The data, illustrated by Professor Alberto Franco Pozzolo, paint a rather discouraging picture of Italians’ awareness regarding the platforms on which they gamble.
The report shows that 14.7% of players access illegal channels without realizing it (both online and offline), highlighting the difficulty of navigating a complex market where the transparency needed to distinguish between licensed and unlicensed operators is lacking. This dynamic is particularly dangerous for vulnerable players (over one third of those aged 18 to 34 choose illegal operators), who have a lower capacity—or perhaps a lower willingness—to understand where it is appropriate to place their bets.
Moreover, so-called “vulnerable” players, i.e. those at higher risk of addiction, operate predominantly in the illegal market: over 26% report having gambled through unlicensed operators, a share more than three times higher than that recorded among other players.
The Regulation
These elements once again highlight the ineffectiveness of a measure such as the “Dignity Decree,” which since 2018 has banned all forms of direct and indirect advertising related to gambling and betting, with the aim of combating gambling addiction. The effect, as these latest figures also demonstrate, has been to increase confusion between legal and illegal operators, with a corresponding growth in the unauthorized market, which today amounts to €25 billion, resulting in significant losses for the State but also for football clubs. The latter have had to forgo sponsorships from licensed operators, while competing with foreign leagues that are not subject to the same restrictions and can count on substantial betting-related revenues.
It is estimated that between the 2019–2020 and 2024–2025 seasons, Serie A lost around €250 million in missed revenues from betting sector sponsors. This issue, together with the proposal to recognize a form of copyright fee (around 1%) for those who organize the sporting events on which bets are placed, represents one of the possible measures to support the sustainability of the sector, long requested by the Italian Football Federation and the clubs. The Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, has repeatedly expressed support for revising a regulation that has not achieved its intended goals, but so far no green light has been given. The idea is to initiate a parliamentary debate, less ideological and more pragmatic, focused on combating illegality and gambling addiction.
“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”
