While many European countries struggle to draw a distinct line between online and offline gambling and to regulate the virtual industry properly, Italy is on the fast track to defining everything about online games of chance and the way they can be delivered to players.

In the last decade (the ADM Decree was ratified in January of 2011), the country’s official regulator, the Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stado took care of outlining how online casinos in Italy should be licensed and taxed. It also regulates all international brands that are willing to provide services to players in the country. One example of successful integration to the Italian domestic market is Betway Casino. The AAMS even blacklists and bans those domestic and online operators that fail to comply.

In many ways, it is no surprise that the country managed to adjust to the new — visual gambling industry — so quickly. After all, it is home to Europe’s first gambling house — Ridotto which opened in Venice in 1638. And even before this, gambling existed in the region since the times of the Roman Empire. 

From the olden days to the modern era — the transition was not very smooth. Italy came a long way from a total ban on gambling to liberalizing the industry. The first changes began in 2006 when real-money skill games and betting exchanges became legal. Then, the market opened to operators from the European Union. AAMD then introduced tenders for licensing and in 2007, embraced the Finance Act. It gave the green light to card games of skill, including certain poker games.

The Comunitaria Decree of 2011 was what finally opened the gates to healthy development of the industry, with many games of chance becoming defined and regulated. The country also agreed on proper forms of taxation for operators and players. In a nutshell, the taxes are high but only for those who provide games. Players don’t need to pay taxes on winnings. Plus, the decree makes sure that operators pay players back no less than 90% of the wagered cash.

With Euros being the currency in Italy, it won’t be a problem to find an online casino that has games and bonuses in EUR. In fact, the majority of places to bet and win in our database accept EUR. Out of these, plenty are ready to welcome Italian players, including PlayCroco and Star Vegas. Alternatively, we can recommend online operators accepting USD. There are plenty of those in our collection, and just to give an example Grand Fortune Casino supports US dollars and welcomes players from Italy.

As far as the deposit and withdrawal methods go, there are also several options that we’d like to recommend as top picks. One of them is Postepay — a payment method developer specifically for Italy. Much to our satisfaction, we’ve spotted it in more than five online operators in our database, including Eurobet Casino and Goldbet Casino. Because Postepay is created in collaboration with Visa, it works with deposits and withdrawals despite being a prepaid card.

Another option that will be convenient to Italians is online operators accepting MasterCard. This payment method works with deposits and withdrawals and is extremely popular. In our database, it can be spotted at 500 online lobbies, with 14 of them welcoming Italians. These are, to mention a few, 888 Casino and Videoslots.

For deposits only, we can also recommend Paysafecard. This prepaid voucher is extremely popular in online lobbies due to speedy deposits and fee-free transactions. When we filtered our list of Paysafecard libraries, we discovered that nine of them accept Italy. Among them is the legendary William Hill Casino Online.

When talking about recommended banking, we are always talking about the cashout speed. Of course, a lot will depend on the selected online operator, its verification procedure, and the list of available payout methods. With services like MasterCard or certain e-wallets, withdrawals should not take longer than 24 hours.

Practical Gambling Guide for Italy (Recommended to Newbie Gamblers) 

In Italy, fans of online gambling can enjoy the benefits of a fully regulated market. The fact that the country licenses and regulates virtual gambling lobbies make it so much easier for newbie players to join in and worry less about rogue websites and lots of traps that unregulated online gambling markets offer.

What are those traps of an unregulated market? Well, unlicensed websites that can change the bonus T&C in the middle of the promotion, delay or withhold payouts, provide ripped software that messes with the RNG and does not respect the rights and interests of players, as well as rude and unresponsive support — these are just a few out of many caveats of the grey sector of the industry.

Luckily, Italy is one of those European countries that joined the massive continental shift from banning offline and online gambling to accepting the fact that at all times and across all countries there will be fans of wagering money, and they are much more protected doing it in a regulated environment.

So, in January of 2011, the state voted for the ADM Decree that legalized and regulated online gambling, including slot machines, live casino games, Keno, Bingo, and Sports Betting, among other activities. The preparation for this milestone started back in 2006 when Italy gave the green light to the AAMS, also known as the Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stado. This is the state authority that handles all of the responsibilities of Italian online gambling licensing, market management, and enforcement.

Under the decree, every business interested in operating virtual gaming lobbies needs to apply for revision by AAMS, pay a fee, provide a long list of documents, and be able to meet the requirements of the authority after receiving a license. Any licensed online operator that is found guilty of violating the rights of the player, can lose its license. This is why gambling in a lobby that complies with a state permit is always beneficial for the player.

Our portal has a detailed list of Italy-friendly regulated online platforms. Along with this list, we dive into all the details of available games and promotions and share specific recommendations regarding popular sites. At the same time, we understand that any newbie Italian player needs much more than a list of casinos, games, and promotions. So, we are rolling out this detailed roadmap to getting started with games of chance in online lobbies. Among others, we will be answering some of the most popular questions:

• Are online casino promotions and bonuses for Italian players free of charge or do they come with obligations?
• Can Italian gamblers play in cryptocurrencies at regulated sites?
• What are live and non-live games available to Italians?
• How to distinguish a regulated platform from a website that has no licenses?
•  

Join us and fill in the blanks on how gambling sites, bonuses, and games work, what to watch out for, great deals to consider, and so much more. For your convenience, we have broken the publication down into convenient sections on licensing and legality, banking and payments, promotions and bonuses, games and software. Each of these sections will contain the most common questions on virtual games of chance asked by newbie Italian players, as well as detailed answers to those questions.

Our Take on Online Gambling in Italy

We are pleased to inform our Italian readers that gambling in their country is fully regulated and the market is saturated with certified and reliable online operators. These platforms are ready to offer games, live casino content, and Sportsbook, among other gambling services.

In terms of entertainment, players will be able to enjoy games from Italy-based content suppliers, as well as from international providers that applied for Italian certificates and successfully qualified. This list of studios includes slots experts as well as live casino providers.

Payments-wise, gamblers from Italy will be able to enjoy banking in EUR in Italy-licensed websites, as well as gambling in crypto, but only at internationally certified platforms that accept Italians. Plus, the community will be able to use cards and e-wallets on almost all platforms, and sometimes will also have access to Italy-specific banking solutions like Postepay/Calibra.

We recommend players from Italy look specifically for locally licensed providers because this guarantees safety or a chance to expect a timely response to issues. Plus, promoitons are easier to claim and wager at certified platforms.

Our database is home to plenty of Italy-certified platforms and to even more locations that comply with the rules and regulations of jurisdictions like Curacao and Cyprus and at the same time accept Italy. To find the best online operator, simply adjust the search filters to preferred currency, payment methods, games, promotions, and other parameters, and enjoy the action.

The list of providers can be very diverse depending on the licensing. If we are talking about international licensors like Curacao, then a chosen Italy-friendly online lobby can have thousands of releases from 100s of studios. If we are talking about platforms regulated by the jurisdiction of Italy, here the list of providers and games can be smaller. This is because not all the international providers opted-in to get licenses from Italy.

The list of such international content creators that can offer content to Italian players includes Playtech, Net Entertainment, Next Generation Gaming, NYX, and Microgaming. If we are talking about live dealer content, we should also mention Evolution Gaming.

Plus, Italy is a country that yielded many local developers. Some of them even made it to international markets. These are providers like Giocaonline, Gtech, Gamshy, Espresso Games, Capecod Gaming, and MGA Software.

Italy-targeted online operators always offer a lot of slot machines, including classic, video, and progressive content. Needless to say that Italian history and folklore provide multiple themes, stories, and characters for iconic Italian slots. Plus, online operators that welcome players from the reviewed country support live dealer releases and table games. If we are to talk about preferences within the country, statistics show that players are very fond of lotteries.