The licensing will cover all types of gambling activities, such as casino games, slots, bingo, sports wagering, horse racing, virtual sports, fantasy sports, esports, and more. The applications will be opened one month after the deadline, on April 19, 2019. Operators might wait some time to acquire a license, as the pending period is expected to be between 90 and 150 days. The expiry date for the new licenses is set for December 31, 2022.
Any operator is free to apply for the new license, although there are some restrictions. Namely, if an operator does not already possess an EU online gaming license and does not have a previous two-year turnover of €1.5 million, it needs to secure a bank guarantee of that same amount, as well as proof of the required infrastructural and technical capacities to operate a gambling business. The participation fee for new applicants is set at €200,000, which means that the application process will bring around €24 million in revenue to the ADM (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli).
New online gaming licensing in Italy is long overdue. The applications process was originally scheduled for September 2017, but it got delayed for various reasons.
While this process might be a little too expensive for some operators, possessing an Italian online gaming license is very good for business. Italy is one of the largest gambling markets in Europe, and it has continually grown in the past several years. This has been assisted by the new budget laws or, more precisely, the switch from the turnover-based tax regime to the GGR tax (gross gaming revenue). The loosening of the previously strict gambling laws has also helped the industry grow.
The GGR tax for online casino games, betting exchange, bingo, and sports betting, is between 18% and 22%, while the horse racing bets have to deal with the tax of between 43% and 47%. The higher percentage marks are applicable to online gaming operations.
The 120 prepared licenses are on a first come first serve basis, which means that whoever applies in the first 120 spots will be awarded a license without bidding. Many operators have already shown interest in obtaining the new license, and some of them include Pinnacle, Winamax, and Marathonbet.
