The Italian gaming market more than doubled between 2008 and 2017 according to a report by the independent research group Eurispes.
The market was €101.8 billion in 2017 compared to €47.5 billion in 2008 and f €15.5 billion in 2003. Gaming revenue was €19 billion in 2017 of which €10 billion was collected in taxes.
The report indicated that 28.2 percent of the population takes part in gaming with 18.3 percent of that online. Only 2 percent plays exclusively online and 7.9 percent does both.
By far the most popular gaming activity is scratch cards, which accounts for 85 percent of the total. About 52.7 percent participate in sports betting, with 22 percent playing in casinos.
Those interviewed expressed the opinion that slot machines were the most dangerous form, by a factor of 83.4 percent. Online gaming was considered dangerous by 78.3 percent of those interviewed, with sports betting at 71.8 percent and scratch cards at 66.7 percent.
Italy recently adopted laws that bans all forms of casino or gaming advertisement and increases taxes on gaming. Casinos now pay 25 percent tax, compared to 20 percent previously—the government projects this will increase revenues by €50 million a year.
