Italian Casinos

Italy has a rich history when it comes to gambling and is regarded as the birthplace of the world’s first brick-and-mortar casino (Casinò di Venezia). It is therefore unsurprising most forms of gambling are legal and regulated in the country, both in landbased and digital form. Remote gambling operators must obtain a license from the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) to legally provide online slots, table games, bingo, and peer-to-peer poker to players from the Boot. Apart from issuing licenses, the ADM is tasked with the regulation and taxation of the online gambling vertical. The body ensures compliance, enforces penalties for violations, and promotes responsible play to mitigate gambling harm.

• Italy’s Stance on Online Gambling
• Gambling Regulatory Bodies
• Taxes on Online Gambling in Italy
• The Future of Online Gambling

The country has a rather liberal regulatory framework as both foreign and domestic businesses can apply for iGaming licenses from the ADM. Italian players face a healthy choice of online casinos within a mature and properly regulated market that is set to witness further growth and liberalization in the future. This article gives you an in-depth look at the current gambling regulations in Italy, alongside an unbiased ranking of the best online casinos accepting Italian players and the payment methods they support. We have included brief reviews to give you a better idea of what our recommended casinos are all about.

Most Popular Italian Online Casinos

Over 400 gambling sites are presently authorized by the ADM to offer their services on Italian soil. While having options is always great, the enormous choice local players are facing makes finding the best online casinos a mighty difficult task. But worry not as we are here to assist you in this venture with our honest ranking of the best Italian online casinos.

We made our top picks after a painstaking vetting process spanning multiple criteria, including payment methods range, withdrawal speed, customer support quality, and gaming diversity. Our brief reviews provide valuable insights into the casinos recommended below to help Italian players make the right choice.

Italy’s Stance on Online Gambling

Until recently, all forms of interactive gambling that involve betting on games of chance (as opposed to games of skill) were considered illegal under the Italian legislation, sports betting being the only exception to this rule. The Italian authorities allowed only a few operators to offer such gambling services and these were all backed by the state itself, so the number of options for players from the country was rather limited.

Thankfully for Italian gambling enthusiasts, this all changed in 2006, when the European Commission pressed the country’s government to introduce some amendments to its restrictive stance on online gambling. The Commission went as far as to conduct a special investigation into the regulations concerning the gambling industry in the country.

This all led to the introduction of a new piece of legislation which aimed at regulating specific games of skill and opened the limited betting market to online sports betting providers that were based outside the territory of Italy. That being said, only operators that are based in countries with membership in the EU or are part of the European Free Trade Association are allowed to offer their services and products to Italian residents.

The following years saw the regulation of more and more forms of interactive gambling. In 2007, games of skill, and poker, in particular, were legally offered over the internet to Italian players only in the form of tournaments. In the two years to follow, yet more changes were made as video poker and cash games were also permitted over the internet. It was not until 2010 that games of chance with fixed odds, such as craps and roulette, were added to the list of legal gambling forms Italian residents can partake in.

The investigation conducted by the European Commission targeted the restrictive online gambling legislation of the country. In fact, the Italian government had gone as far as to prevent players from accessing the websites of online gambling providers that were based outside the country. The Italian authorities had no other option but to yield to the pressure of the European Commission which led to the introduction of favorable amendments to Italy’s rigid interactive gambling laws.

In 2010, the country’s government finally gave the green light to foreign gambling operators allowing them to offer their services and products in Italy. The only condition the operators are required to meet is to receive a license from the local Italian regulator – Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), which translates as Customs and Monopolies Agency. Currently, the number of operators to hold one such license exceeds one hundred, with Italian players being able to engage legally in a wide range of virtual casino games, including slots, video poker, keno games, roulette, blackjack, and poker.

Italy’s Gambling Regulatory Body

All gambling activities in the country, both offline and online, are licensed and regulated by the aforementioned ADM, which is located in the capital Rome. Only this entity has a say in which online gambling operators will receive an Italian license and which ones will be denied.

Before the ADM gives its stamp of approval to any foreign gambling operator, the latter needs to provide evidence that all requirements set forth by the regulatory entity are met in their entirety. This is achieved by providing various documents concerning the social, financial, and technical aspects of the operation of interactive gambling websites, based outside Italy.

The operators’ websites need to be technically up to par, ensuring their service is secure, stable and user-friendly. In addition, virtual casinos should be based in countries that have acquired a membership in the European Union. Apart from that, various taxes should be paid by the operators but you will be able to read more on this in the section to follow.

Taxes on Online Gambling in Italy

The amount casino operators pay in taxes varies depending on the type of gambling products they offer to Italian residents. The taxes for games of skill, such as poker, have a flat rate and are the lowest at 3%, while those for cash games are the highest at 20%.

The gambling operators are also required to pay a 0.60% tax on their annual turnover from virtual casino games. Offering bingo games comes with a tax of 11.5%, while the taxes for providing sports betting and horse-race betting stand at 3.5% and 10%, respectively.

Then again, the one-off fee operators are expected to contribute with for the license itself is set to €350,000. Please note that these are not permanent licenses, which is to say they need to be renewed every twelve months. Italian players, on the other hand, can have their peace of mind knowing that all winnings they have generated while betting online are theirs to keep in their entirety. No taxes are imposed on players’ profits.

Italian Casinos FAQs

Deposit Methods for Italian Casino Players

Having access to secure, efficient, and convenient payment methods is crucial for enjoying a seamless online gambling experience. Luckily, casino players from Italy face a broad range of safe banking solutions tailored to their specific needs. In this section, we walk you through the four of the popular methods players from the Boot can use for deposits at ADM-licensed online casinos.

PostePay

PostePay is perhaps the most popular deposit method among online casino players from Italy. It is a prepaid reloadable card issued by the national postal service provider Poste Italiane. More than 29 million cards by this brand are in circulation at the time of publication, accounting for over two billion transactions. This local payment solution is preferred by approximately 35% of the country’s population and is supported by all online merchants that accept the Visa and Mastercard brands.

PostePay is prominently featured in the cashiers of most online casinos welcoming players from the Boot. The depositing process is a breeze with PostePay as you simply must enter your card details, including its number and expiry date. The name of the cardholder must coincide with the name you have registered your online casino account in, i.e. it is impossible to use someone else’s card.

Deposits carried out with PostePay are instant, highly secure, and free of extra charges. Additionally, players can exercise greater control over their gambling expenditures as they can only deposit and spend the amount preloaded onto their cards. Best of all, PostePay is available for withdrawals as well, sparing you the hassles of looking for alternative payment solutions when cashing out.

Neteller

Neteller is an innovative digital wallet that specializes in processing online gaming transactions. It facilitates instant deposits and exceptionally swift withdrawals via a robust payment system that does not require disclosing personal or financial information. The e-wallet supports multiple currencies, including the EUR, and is accepted by all major iGaming brands operating in the Italian market.

Players must register and fund their newly created wallets before they can deposit with Neteller. Various top-up options are available to users, including credit and debit cards, direct bank transfers, and prepaid vouchers. Each time you deposit funds to your wallet’s balance, the system will ask you whether you want to use the transferred amount for gambling purposes. We recommend you be careful during this step as the purpose of the deposited money cannot be changed afterward.

Casino deposits with Neteller are instant and do not incur additional fees on behalf of online gambling operators. Withdrawals can also be returned to this e-wallet but most online casinos usually require a couple of business days to process and release the funds from your real-money balance. The least amount you can deposit with Neteller averages €10. As for the deposit ceiling, it varies wildly from one online casino to the next.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a mobile payment method intended specifically for iOS devices like iPhones, Apple Watches, and iPads. It has multiple benefits to offer, including transaction speed, flexibility, convenience, and security. There are no fees or waiting times on casino deposits conducted with Apple Pay and withdrawals are also quite time-efficient.

The Apple Pay application is preinstalled on most modern iOS devices that support fingerprint recognition. Italian players who own compatible smartphones or tablets must simply open Apple Pay and connect a debit or credit card to the app. They must then navigate to their preferred casino’s cashier, tap on the Apple Pay logo, and specify the amount they want to deposit.

After authenticating the transaction with fingerprint or facial recognition, the deposited amount will appear in the player’s balance right away. Some Italian casinos also return withdrawals to Apple Pay wallets but receiving your winnings is, unfortunately, not instant. There is usually a 24-hour processing time frame for withdrawal approval.

Paysafecard

Italian players looking to gamble casually for smaller amounts are recommended to pick Paysafecard, a prepaid voucher they can purchase in-person or online in several denominations (€10, €25, €50, and €100). Reloading your casino balance with Paysafecard is beyond simple. All you must do is select the method in the cashier, enter your desired deposit amount, and type in the 16-digit code of your voucher.

The funds will appear in your real-money balance immediately and you can start using them right away. Combining the codes of up to ten vouchers is an option for gamblers who wish to transfer larger amounts to their casino balance. The maximum deposits per day are capped at €1,000.

Registering a myPaysafecard account is recommended for players looking to increase their transaction limits. Some ADM-licensed casinos also return withdrawals to myPaysafe accounts. Once your winnings are returned to your Paysafe balance, you can either use them for more gambling transactions or cash them out at the nearest ATM using your plastic Paysafecard Mastercard.

Popular Games and Live Dealer Products in Italy

ADM-licensed online casinos offer a world of quality gaming entertainment, catering to local players with hundreds of slot releases, table games, and live dealer tables. These are supplied by some of the most prominent software brands in the iGaming industry, including heavyweights like NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Big Time Gaming, Blueprint, Red Tiger, and iSoftBet.

There is a preponderance of classic and modern video slots with versatile themes to suit all Italian players’ preferences. Slots are a popular choice among gamblers from the country as they require little to no learning curve, which renders them suitable for all regardless of experience level. Despite their simplicity, slots give players the golden opportunity to land massive prizes as they are typically loaded with extra features like bonus rounds, free spins, scatters, multipliers, stacked and sticky wilds.

Many Italian players favor progressive slots like those from Playtech’s Age of the Gods and Microgaming’s Mega Moolah series. Such releases boast enormous winning potential as their jackpots increase incrementally with each bet placed, reaching seven-digit amounts. Regardless of their type, all slots run on certified random number generators (RNGs), which guarantees fair outcomes and equal winning opportunities for all.

Roulette is another mainstay at ADM-licensed online casinos that accept real-money play from Italy. Multiple single-zero and double-zero variations are on offer, including absolute staples like European, American, and French Roulette. Blackjack is also a linchpin at Italy-friendly gambling sites where players can have a pick from various shoe games dealt out of multiple decks. Single-deck variants still remain popular in the country despite their slightly less advantageous rules.

Italian players looking to implement strategy and hone their skills have a decent enough selection of video poker games at their disposal, including classics like Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, and Deuces Wild. Some variants are available in multi-hand format, allowing local gamblers to play and bet on multiple hands simultaneously.

Live dealer games are a centerpiece at many online casinos accepting customers from the Italian Peninsula. These are usually supplied by ADM-approved software providers like Evolution Gaming, Playtech, and Pragmatic Play. The live tables are manned by expertly trained dealers and brought to players’ screens via high-definition streams in real time.

Some are hosted by native dealers in Italian to the benefit of those who are not fluent enough in English. Others, like Live Venezia Roulette, recreate the opulence of Venetian landbased casinos. The dealers have undergone special training to gain a deep understanding of the Italian casino culture. Should you tire of playing live blackjack, roulette, poker, or baccarat, you can always join the chatty presenters in massively popular game shows like Adventures Beyond Wonderland, Treasure Island, and Crazy Time.

The Future of Online Gambling in Italy

Thanks to the introduction of the favorable laws regarding online gambling, Italy has become one of the most lucrative gaming markets in Europe. Unfortunately, not all forms of interactive gambling are doing equally well in the country. Online poker, in particular, has suffered a substantial decline as becomes evident by the fact its turnover fell by 10% as of 2016. The number of active poker players is reportedly also on the decline.

Despite the drop in online poker turnover, the future of online gambling in Italy is looking quite bright. As of 2024, more than 400 online casinos and betting sites carry the stamp of approval of the ADM.