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Italy has logged its first full month under the country’s revamped online gambling licensing setup, and the early read looks exactly like a market in transition.
December 2025 marked the first complete month following the launch of the new concessions in mid-November, which reduced the number of active operators and tightened the rules for online brand operations. The result: the online casino continued to climb, while online sports betting took a step back as platforms and players adjusted their strategies.
Online casino keeps growing as players stick with the products they know
Online casino finished December with player spend (spesa) of €333.7m, up 18.4% year-on-year, according to market data published on the back of operator figures.
That’s a strong month in any climate. In a “new regime” month, it’s even more telling because it suggests casino customers didn’t need much time to find their way back after any domain and platform changes.
In terms of market share, Lottomatica remained the clear leader in December, accounting for 31.14% of casino spend. Sisal followed on 12.10%.
The December data also showed a familiar pattern in consolidation periods: a few mid-tier names gained share in pockets, even as the leaders maintained their top spots.
Sports betting dips in December as the market “resets.”
If the casino was the steady engine, sports betting was the segment that showed the friction.
Online betting spend for December was reported at €126.6m, down 18.8% from December 2024. Stakes (raccolta/turnover) were just over €1.2bn, down 4% year-on-year.
The small drop in stakes, but bigger fall in spend, still shows a tougher month for margins, which is common when a market is in the middle of a platform migration and player reactivation.
The bigger story, though, is structural. Italy’s new system cut down the long tail of online “skins” and narrowed the regulated field. That kind of shake-up can temporarily drag down activity, even when underlying demand remains unchanged
Why the shake-up happened: fewer licences, fewer domains, tighter rules
Italy’s regulator introduced a new set of online concessions, which went live on 13 November 2025, with 52 licenses activated across 46 operators. The switch also forced the closure of hundreds of affiliated sites because skins are no longer permitted, and each operator is limited to running one domain per license.
The licensing price tag is also part of the story: each license costs €7 million, and the state collected €364 million from the round, according to reporting at launch.
Some well-known international brands chose not to apply for the new licences, including Betway and Unibet, which helped drive the consolidated look of the market going into December.
What’s next in 2026: “shielding” the market and revisiting ad rules
The transition doesn’t end with licensing. Italian policymakers have also been discussing the next stage: enhancing protection around the regulated market and revisiting how advertising rules operate.
One of the headline projects is a planned multi-stakeholder “shield” aimed at protecting the licensed online sector from black-market pressure, with coordination across banking, IT, and telecom systems involving the Economy Ministry (MEF), ADM, and state tech provider SOGEI, as reported in industry coverage.
At the same time, discussions continue regarding the update of Italy’s approach to gambling advertising, with the Dignity Decree’s blanket restrictions widely viewed as a factor that has complicated channelization efforts. Reporting has linked the policy work to Sports Minister Andrea Abodi and talks involving Serie A leadership, including president Ezio Simonelli.
Source: AGIMEG
