Italy’s Online Gambling Share Reaches 26% as Market Shifts Toward Digital
Online gambling accounted for 26% of Italy’s gaming market in 2025, up from just 5% in 2016, according to data presented at SBC Summit 2026 in Lisbon.
Mauro De Fabritiis, founder of MDF Partners and moderator of the Beyond the Reform: The New Italian Gaming Landscape panel, presented the figures on September 30, 2026.
Gaming machines and bingo represented 38% of the market in 2025, compared with 58% in 2016. The share of retail lotteries declined from 32% to 28%, while retail betting increased from 5% to 7%.
Across the period, total gaming GGR grew by 1.4%. Online GGR increased by 20.9%, while overall retail declined by 1.3%.
The Italian market has also become more concentrated. Five groups accounted for 84% of total GGR in 2025, compared with 68% in 2016. Their share reached 92% in retail and 78% online.
De Fabritiis also highlighted continued online growth, changing consumer behaviour, technological development and the persistence of the illegal market. At the same time, he pointed to incomplete retail reform and fragmented rules around responsible gaming and advertising.
Mauro De Fabritiis, founder of MDF Partners, stressed:
Markets change, and rules must be capable of changing with the market.
