Lottomatica-Censis Report: Legal Gaming in Italy and Its Social and Economic Value

ROME, Italy (June 22, 2023) – The second Lottomatica-Censis Report “Legal gaming in Italy. The social and economic value of the game”. The survey explores the social significance and functions of the legal gaming sector in Italy, a mass activity that involves millions of people and which represents an economic asset of the country that generates businesses, jobs and tax revenues. The vast majority of Italians consider the role of the State to be decisive and that of the concessionaires essential to ensure a safe, controlled, legal system that acts as a barrier to the illegal one. The recovery of the collection of bets is significant.

AN ACTIVITY THAT INVOLVES MILLIONS OF ITALIANS

69.4% of Italians define gaming as a human attitude, while 47% happened to play one or more types of legal gambling in the last year. Almost 23 million Italians, therefore, claim to have played at least once in the last twelve months. The accelerated transition to digital life has also meant for the game the spread of online activity and, among those who gambled legally during the year, al 56.4% happened to do it even remotely.

LEGAL GAMING, A RESOURCE TO ENHANCE

The idea of ​​legal gaming as a resource to be exploited from an economic and social point of view is consolidating among Italians. Entertainment, but also an antidote to illegality, a judgment that concerns 77.4% of the population (82.7% among young people). An economic value emerges which is condensed in the volume of business that legal gaming activates, in the chain of businesses with relative employment, in the creation of tax benefits to support public spending.

LEVELING AGAINST ILLEGALITY

61.3% of Italians are convinced that a restrictive approach to legal gaming would reduce the number of Italians who gamble legallybut it would increase the number of people gambling illegally, to the benefit of crime.

DO NOT NARROW THE SCOPE OF LEGAL PLAY

80.6% of Italians think that restricting the scope of legal gaming would strengthen the illegal one: in 2021, the share was 59.6%. 68.8% of Italians are also against a reduction in the physical places where it is possible to play legally, as it would cause players to be transferred to uncontrolled places.

YES TO STATE CHECK AND DEALERS

The role of regulator and manager of the State assumes importance, which for 91.3% of Italians is fundamental together with the activity carried out by the concessionaires, on whose quality and reliability, according to 87.7% of citizens, compliance with the rules on gaming established at state level and consumer protection depend.

A UNIQUE TEXT TO CLARIFY THE SKILLS IN THE MATTER OF GAMING

88.6% of citizens believe that the regulation of the legal gaming sector should be decided by the State, with uniform rules throughout the national territory. It is also desirable to adopt a Consolidated Regulation Text to define powers and boundaries between health protection, public order, fiscal, commercial and digital aspects.

INFORMATION AND AWARENESS

89.7% of Italians are convinced that the State has the task of raising awareness and informing about the risks of gambling addiction, but that everyone must then be free to decide whether to play or not. This is an opinion shared across age, gender, income, educational qualification, territory of residence and employment situation.

THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF LEGAL GAMING

In 2022 there was an increase in tax revenue for the state coffers, understood as the total deriving from taxation, which are equal to 11.2 billion euros, close to the 2019 figure (pre-pandemic), which was 11.4 billion euros. The numbers for 2022, therefore, should be read as signs of the vitality of a sector which, having loosened the constraints and restrictions, has recovered its space.

For Sandra Savino, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economy and Finance: “It is necessary to bring order to the legal gaming sector in Italy. In this sense, I have convened a table with the main players in the sector in view of the tax delegation. Furthermore, it is necessary to involve the Regions so that a uniform discipline is envisaged with the adoption of a Consolidated Text. The Government is very careful to guarantee transparency and legality by defining certain rules to protect companies in the sector”.

Wanda Ferro, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior, he declared that: “The second Lottomatica-Censis Report is a fundamental tool which allows us to address an important and strategic sector from an economic and social point of view with awareness. For millions of Italians, gaming is a fun activity practiced responsibly. It is therefore appropriate that it take place within a adequate regulatory framework. Citizen freedom must be combined with the protection of the most vulnerable groups through training and awareness-raising policies”.

Marco Osnato, President of the Finance Commission of the Chamber, stated that: “Italians declare themselves in favor of legal gambling. The tax delegation that we are dealing with in these hours provides for dialogue between operators in the sector and the Municipalities so that suitable places are identified within the territories. The Government has the development of a sector at heart which has demonstrated over the years how to reconcile a need of the State with the freedom of enterprise”.

Second Mario Lollobrigida, Central Games Director of the Customs and Monopolies Agency: “It is essential to define a legal system for the allocation of gaming points. In this perspective, the manager also becomes a guardian of legality in the area. I therefore hope that shared rules will be identified in the tax delegation through dialogue with local authorities”.

For Guglielmo Angelozzi, Lottomatica Chief Executive Officer: “From the second Report that we prepared together with Censis, the social and economic value of legal gaming, which increasingly represents a reference asset for the country. The Italians consider the role of the State and the activity of the concessionaires to be decisive and believe that a reduction in legal gaming would strengthen the illegal one. We will therefore continue to guarantee our maximum commitment to ensure the right rules on the matter, in the awareness of performing a useful function for employment and entrepreneurial development”.

Second Joseph DeRita, President of Censis: “Legal gaming has social value because it is a mass activity that involves millions of Italians who enjoy themselves and pursue a dream, even if only for a moment, and it has economic value because it feeds a system made up of businesses, workers and revenue for the state. The Italians ask to be able to play in peace and security within a system in which the State must establish the perimeter within which to play and the concessionaires must enforce it”.