Italy Casinos

The gambling landscape in Italy has changed steadily over time since the 1900s, almost always toward more liberal policies, but also with some serious reforms.

There are four land-based casinos in the country, one with two physical locations. These are Campione D’Italia, La Valleè, Sanremo (the oldest casino, est. 1905), and "Venice" or Casino di Venezia with mostly classic games like tables on the Grand Canal (Ca' Vendramin Calergi) and an American-style location near Marco Polo Airport - Casino di Venezia Ca' Vendramin Calergi.

Land-based and online gambling operators, mostly in the sports sector, have done well under a regulatory regime managed by the Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies (AAMS). Now, the Agenzia delle dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) is the primary regulatory body for gaming in Italy.

Some of the most recent important milestones include the 2007 amendment legalizing skill games; the legalization in 2011 of real-money poker and some other online casino games, and the allowance of slot machine parlors beginning in 2012. The liberalization of slot laws in 2012 ended the state monopoly on slot machines in the country and led to a proliferation of devices.

THE CASINOS AND GAMBLING GAMES OF ITALY

In-person gambling is currently allowed on number games with fixed odds; lottery draws; numerical totalizer games (Eurojackpot, Superenalotto, Win for Life); sports betting; fixed-odds betting; horse-race betting; non-sporting events betting (reality TV shows, song contests, etc.); traditional and instant lotteries, and through betting exchanges.

Lotteries actually come in three varieties and all are handled by Lottomatica. These are segmented based on the frequency of drawings: Scratch and Win or instant lotteries, the Lotto games with twice weekly drawings or more frequent drawings such as the thrice-weekly SuperEnalotto, and the national lotteries like the New Year’s Lottery with annual drawings.

Online bingo concessions are also allowed. Some of the operators include SNAI, Eurobet, William Hill, and Gioco Digitale.

There are perhaps hundreds of thousands of slot machines scattered all over the country in parlors as well as in coffee bars and other retail gathering places, except in Bologna, which has chosen to ban them. We’ve found about three dozen cities with important numbers of gambling games ranging from slots and video poker to full-scale casino gaming tables.

Casino de la Vallee in St. Vincent is perhaps the largest gaming center in the country as far as floor space with nearly 5,000 sqm of gaming floor in operation over two stories. Look for about 600 slots and 90 gaming tables featuring Chemin De Fer, (a baccarat variant), Roulette, Blackjack, Caribbean Stud Poker, Craps, Punto Banco, Ultimate Texas Hold’Em, and more.

The game selection is repeated loosely at all of the country’s casinos with slight variations, additions, and deletions. Poker is available for cash games and tournaments.

Casino Sanremo is the oldest and also a highly progressive gambling establishment with an online component. On the land side of the equation, we find nearly 500 slot machines and other electronic cabinet games. At least 50 of them are multi-game cabinets with a variety of titles and types of games to choose from.

The “De Sanctis Room” for poker features Texas Hold’em cash games.

Table games include the regular Italian complement of Blackjack, Punto Banco; French, European, and American Roulette, and Chemin De Fer, etc.

ITALY CASINOS AND GAMBLING IN SUMMARY

While regulatory changes and liberalization of gambling opportunities are welcome measures in Italy, the road to a truly open and regulated market has not always been an easy one.

Questions remain as to why such a transparent and seemingly progressive regime would continue to limit the land-based options to only four casinos with five locations. This, while gaming has been expanded in other ways by the widespread distribution of bet collection points such as gaming shops, betting outlets, and bingo halls, not to mention the explosive growth of slot machines, which at one point may have numbered as many as half a million.

In early 2024 the government went all in on its Reorganization Decree for online gambling - which may somehow as a catalyst pull it all together.

THE LOCATION AND GEOGRAPHY OF ITALY

Italy is located in the southern Europe region and has a varied topography. The Alps mark its northern boundary. The peninsula's spine is shaped by the Apennine Mountains. The Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, and Adriatic Seas surround the nation on the seasides, offering a vast coastline and popular beaches. The Po Valley and other plains are rich and fertile and gave rise to much of the country's cuisine, but local fare rules the table no matter which part of the country one visits. Mounts Vesuvius and Etna are well-known Italian volcanos. Italy is known as one of the most beautiful countries in the world and its geography influences the climate, its culture, and people’s lifestyles.