Italy to issue 80 new online gambling licences
Government's new draft budget outlines plans to award dozens of new licences by 31 July 2016
The Italian government plans to issue 80 new online gambling licences by mid-2016, according to the country’s new draft budget released last week.
Prime minister Matteo Renzi presented the government’s 2016 budget on Thursday and outlined plans for new gaming licences to be awarded by 31 July 2016.
The 80 new licences will last for a six-year period up to 31 December 2022 and will require applicants to pay a fixed price of 200,000.
Plans are already underway to switch from a tax on betting turnover to one based on gross gaming revenue at a maximum rate of 20% for all verticals, while the full liberalisation of the country’s online sports betting market is also in the pipeline.
“The availability of new licences comes at a very interesting timing for the Italian market with the full liberalisation of sports betting and the possible change in the taxation,” DLA Piper gaming lawyer and partner, Giulio Coraggio, told eGaming Review.
“The Italian online gaming market is still one of the largest markets in Europe and we expect that a number of operators will apply for a licence,” Coraggio added.
Coraggio advised any company interested in applying for a licence to begin working on the application immediately to ensure compliance is achieved in time.
Also included in Thursday’s budget announcement was confirmation of thousands of new betting shop licences, 250 land-based bingo licences and a turnover tax of AWPs and VLTs at 15% and 5.5% respectively.