Italy's 2027 budget raises slot levy, doubles stakes, extends licences
A certified budget bill heading to the Italian parliament lifts machine taxes, doubles slot stakes and pushes gambling concessions out to 2029, with retail operators bearing most of the new burden.
A certified text of Italy's 2027 budget bill, now before parliament and reported by iGaming Business, lifts the levy on gaming machines, lets slot stakes double in size, and pushes land-based gambling concessions forward to the close of 2029.
From 1 January 2027, the PREU machine levy on slot machines known as AWP climbs to 25%, up from the current 24%. The levy on video lottery terminals climbs from 8.6% to 9.6%. Machines that pay out at least 70% of stakes in prizes qualify for a reduced rate of 20%.
Alongside the tax rise, the permitted stake on each slot game will double, climbing from €1 to €2, while the top prize on offer increases from €100 up to €200.
Concessions covering betting, slots, VLTs and bingo, all set to lapse on 31 December 2026, will instead run until the end of 2029. Operators whose betting shops treat gambling as a primary activity will owe €14,250 per right each year, falling to €8,550 where gambling is a secondary line of business. Those holding slot and VLT network concessions face a charge of €150 for every slot permit and €7,500 for every VLT right across the whole extension. Bingo venues will pay monthly fees ranging from €6,500 to €14,500, set according to how many cards each hall sells.
The scratchcard concession for Gratta e Vinci likewise runs to 2029, at a cost of €188 million, while Lotto and SuperEnalotto will each add one extra weekly draw.
A new licensing regime also covers esports and LAN gaming halls offering skill games that carry no cash prizes. Operators will need authorisation from the regulator ADM, paying €200 for each device, €1,000 for each hall and €10,000 for each online platform. Any form of betting remains off-limits inside these venues.
The bill further establishes a scheme to settle disputes, some of them long-running, that stem from a levy imposed on slot machines back in 2015.
Italian Gaming News put the total yield of the measures at about €952 million in 2027, iGaming Business reported, well above the €700 million figure Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had announced the previous week. The largest contributions come from the PREU increase (€334 million), the concession extensions (€281 million) and the scratchcard renewal (€188 million). The settlement over the 2015 levy could add a further €71.62 million if every party involved takes part.
A technical report accompanying the bill estimates that the PREU rise and the concession extensions alone will generate close to €2 billion between 2027 and 2029, on the assumption that slot takings increase by roughly 30% once the higher stake limits take effect.
The text does not introduce any new levy on online gambling and leaves the lottery commission, known as the aggio, unchanged. That bears out an expectation iGaming Business had reported the previous week, that retail operators would carry most of the new fiscal weight. Earlier reports had suggested online gambling and lotteries might instead be asked to contribute.
The land-based sector has pushed back against the changes, according to Agimeg. Trade association As.Tro called an extraordinary meeting of its technical committee on the day the text was published to assess the impact of the slot and VLT measures, Jamma reported.
The bill now moves to the Chamber of Deputies, where hearings are expected to begin around 5 November, with amendments due by 17 November. Parliament must approve the full budget by 31 December.