EGBA opposed the increase in license fees for online gambling in Italy

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has expressed concern over a proposed increase in the cost of online gambling license fees in Italy. This is stated in a statement by EGBA published on December 19.

According to recent Italian media reports, the country plans to increase the license fee for online operators to €7 million. This will be the maximum value for European countries.

As noted in the EGBA statement, the proposed fee is 35 times higher than the license fee established in 2018, which amounted to 200 thousand euros. Previously, Italian authorities proposed increasing the license fee for online gambling to 2.5 million euros, but this proposal was never implemented.

The Association believes that the increase in license costs will lead to a sharp reduction in the number of licensed operators from the current 91 licensees to 15-20, contributing to a significant increase in the size of the online gambling black market in the country, which creates risks for players.