Online Betting In Italy: Betting Sites & Laws

Last Updated: March 4, 2024

Online Gambling ItalyIt’s only recently that online betting in Italy has become legal and since the law changed in 2006 it’s become one of the biggest markets in Europe.

Legalised markets are great for punters because you’ll find all the biggest operators serving customers in the space… and that means as a player you get to chose from the absolute best possible services and benefit from their sign up offers and ongoing promotions.

Below we’ve got a list of the best betting sites for Italy and a run through of all the key laws and legislation’s residents of the country need to know about.

Key Facts: Online Gambling In Italy

  • Most gambling illegal until new laws passed in 2006.
  • Gambling and online betting now fully legal in Italy.
  • Agenzia delle dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) is the sole state regulator and is responsible for issuing licences .
  • Players are free to gamble with any licensed online betting site.
  • Legal gambling age in the country is 18+.

Best Betting Sites For Italy:

The following is a list of the best betting sites for residents of Italy:

  1. William Hill
  2. Unibet
  3. 888Sport
  4. Betfair
1
william hill
100% up to €215
WILLIAM HILL REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
T&C’s apply – 18+.
2
unibet
€10 welcome bonus
UNIBET REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
T&C’s apply – 18+.
3
888sport
100% up to €100
888SPORT REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
T&C’s apply – 18+.
4
betfair
€10 + €200 Welcome Bonus
BETFAIR REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
T&C’s apply – 18+.

Gambling Legislation & Law Timeline

As we have mentioned above, the process of fully legalising gambling in Italy came about mostly in the past decade. The following timeline traces the legislation involved in that process, as well as some notable pieces passed longer ago:

November 20th 1948 – President Decree no.1677

One of the first pieces of legislation to legalise and regulate any form of gambling in Italy, the President Decree no.1677 did so for lotteries and related activities. Further decrees in a similar vein followed through the years in order to keep lotteries efficiently regulated.

January 31st 2000 – ADM Decree no. 29

Passed by the ADM regulatory body in early 2000, Decree no. 29 legalised bingo and other bingo formula in Italy and set out the framework by which the body would regulate and tax the activities.

December 30th 2004 – Law no. 311

Passed in late 2004, so-called Law no. 311 was the piece of legislation setting down the legality and regulatory framework for horse racing betting in Italy. Law no. 248 was also passed in August 2006 to update the legislation.

March 1st 2006 – Decree no. 111

Whilst sports betting wasn’t traditionally prohibited in the same way as other gambling activities in Italy, it was still strictly regulated and limited to state sponsored providers. Decree no. 111 passed in 2006 opened up the industry and made sports betting legal in a more recognisable form.

January 10th 2011 – ADM Director Decree

The ADM Director Decree of 2011 legalised almost all remaining forms of gambling in Italy. The specific activities mentioned under the decree were online casino games, online poker tournaments and games of chance and card games not organised as tournaments.

March 18th 2013 – ADM Director Decree no. 47

ADM Director Decree no. 47 of March 2013 officially legalised and set a regulatory framework for ‘remote fixed-odds betting on sporting and non-sporting events with direct interaction between gamblers’. In layman’s terms this equates to exchange betting.

Are Players Taxed On Winnings?

Gambling TaxItaly has a very well defined and fairly simply system of gambling taxation. Operators and providers are generally taxed according to their gross profits and at a different rate according to the form of gambling they provide. Sports betting providers, for instance, are taxed at 4.5% whilst casino game operators are subject to a 20% tax rate.

Most importantly, however, punters’ winnings from gambling are exempt from income tax in Italy meaning that they are essentially tax free. The country did used to have legislation stating that winnings earned through providers outside of Italy weren’t subject to the same tax exemption but this was deemed unlawful by the EU.

Recommended Deposit Methods

Deposit OptionsDue to the fact that essentially all gambling is legalised, regulated and tax exempt in modern day Italy, there is no need for punters to consider issues of legality or taxation when it comes to their choice of deposit method.

As such, it is only the general criteria of speed, security and ease which should enter into the equation. What that means is that depositing via credit or debit card is usually the most sensible method as it excels in all of those areas.