Italy's 2027 budget asks gambling for €700m

Italy's government expects its 2027 budget to take another €700 million from gambling. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gave the figure on 28 October, after the Council of Ministers approved the budget bill (*disegno di legge di bilancio*). "Altri 700 milioni arrivano dal settore dei giochi," she told the press conference: another €700 million comes from the gaming sector (our translation).

The Council's release puts the whole package at about €26 billion in 2027 and €27 billion in 2028. It says the money comes mainly from the activation of "the clauses" and from higher revenue from the financial, gaming and energy sectors. Meloni put the energy companies' extra contribution at about €700 million as well, and added: "Non è una manovra contro qualcuno" (it is not a budget against anyone). She was speaking about the package as a whole.

What the budget plan says about gambling

The Ministry of Economy's draft budgetary plan for 2027 (*Documento programmatico di bilancio*), approved on 13 October, lists "measures on gaming" as a recurring revenue item, not a one-off. It sizes them at 0.03% of GDP in 2027 and 2028 and 0.02% in 2029. It does not give a euro figure or say which games are affected. Italian trade press read the plan as about €718 million in 2027 and 2028 and €478 million in 2029, or about €1.9 billion over three years.

What the circulating bill text contains

As of 30 October, the official text has not yet been presented to Parliament. On the evening of 30 October, the Italian trade site Jamma published a copy of the bill text as checked by the State Accounting Office. According to that copy, the gambling chapter does the following:

• Machine tax (PREU). From 1 January 2027, the single levy on slot machines in bars and arcades (AWP) is set at 25% of stakes and on video lottery terminals (VLT) at 9.60%. Jamma reports the current rates as 24% and 8.60%. AWPs set to pay back at least 70% of stakes would pay a reduced 20% while they wait to be replaced by machines that run only from a remote system.
• Bigger stakes and prizes on AWPs. The maximum stake goes from €1 to €2 and the maximum win from €100 to €200.
• Concessions extended to 31 December 2029. This covers land-based betting outlets, the AWP and VLT machine networks and bingo halls, each against fees that differ by game. The Gratta e Vinci instant lottery concession is also extended to 2029, for €188 million paid in two instalments in 2027.
• More draws. An extra weekly Lotto and SuperEnalotto draw on Wednesdays.

As of 30 October, the circulating text contains no change to the tax on online casino or online betting. The bill can still change in Parliament.

Before the text came out, Italian press estimated the main measures at about €150 million from the AWP rate, €165 million from the VLT rate and €305 million from the concession extensions. Those are press estimates; the bill text we read has no revenue table. EGP-FIPE, the trade association for gaming halls, warned on 29 October, as reported by CasinoBeats, that a higher machine levy would make at least 20% of specialist gaming halls unprofitable and put thousands of jobs at risk.

What happens next

The bill now goes to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which have to approve it by 31 December. Until then none of the measures is law.

Our reading

In our reading, the burden falls on land-based gaming: machines, betting shops and bingo halls. The higher stake and prize limits on AWPs run the other way from the tax rise, and the lower 20% rate rewards machines that pay back more. Online casino and online betting players are not directly affected by the text as it stands, but the details can still move before the end-of-year vote.

For more on Italy, see Betfair's exit from the Italian market, AGCOM's consultation on gambling advertising and the Lottomatica and Cirsa merger plan. Britain announced a rise in its tax on higher-stake machines in its own Budget on 28 October.

For readers outside Italy: this is Italy's state budget bill. It is not yet law and applies only to the Italian market.