Online gambling license: Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli

The general objectives of the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, with regard to gambling, is the licensing and supervision of gambling operators. Likewise, it is also responsible for carrying out activities against illegal gambling, creating sanctions and even preventing (through a block) some illegal sites from operating in Italy.

In addition to serving as the sole regulator of the games, it also performs other roles related to the management of Customs Services. In this sense, ADM, unlike most online game licensing bodies, also incorporates several other tasks.

In Italy, gambling was completely illegal until a few decades ago. They were gradually being legalized in the 2000s:

• 2004: legalization of lottery games and instant lotteries ( scratch cards ).
• 2005: legalization of bingo and lotto games.
• 2006: legalization of card tournaments that require strategy, such as poker.
• 2011: legalization of other casino games.

Sports betting is also legalized by ADM, and only it has the power to license this type of BET. Unlicensed game operators, i.e. operating illegally, run the risk of receiving fines and penalties, including for their users.

In 2006, the Italian gaming market was opened to operators from the European Union and the European Free Trade Association, with some rules of course. Online gambling services were also gradually being legalized from 2006 through the legalization of gambling itself.

Strict rules that prevented Italian citizens from using the websites of European online casino operators were overturned in 2010. However, before operators could offer their games to Italians, they had to obtain a license issued by the then regulatory body, the Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato (AAMS).

Today, it is the sole responsibility of the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli both online gaming licenses like the licenses for physical casinos. There are only four licensed land-based casinos in all of Italy. Licenses can cover all betting games: bingo, poker, poker tournaments, sports betting and other types of online betting.

Only companies (legal entities) can carry out an application for a license from the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli. Individuals cannot. There is no requirement that the company and its servers be located in Italy, but they must be located in one of the member countries of the European Economic Area.

In Italy, only operators need to have a license. Other gambling-related operators (such as those offering testing, payment and other services) do not currently need to obtain a license. However, it is worth noting that all software and Game providers must be certified and comply with the standards imposed by ADM.

To be eligible to receive a license, the company must be fit and meet certain requirements. These include technical, financial, social aspects, among others. The licensing process conducted by Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli will demonstrate whether the applicant company complies with the following requirements:

1. Have operated in the European gaming market with a return equal to or greater than one and a half million euros in the last two years.
2. Operate at a high technical level, providing secure, stable and easy-to-use services.
3. Have their base of operations within a member country of the European Union.
4. Pay the fee to the administration of the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, among others.

The maximum number of licenses that can be issued by the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli is 120. At the beginning of 2018, ADM opened 80 new licenses for new casino operators in addition to the in-vogue licenses that will be extended. Therefore, it should be expected that the number of betting sites and casinos licensed by ADM will grow quite a lot in the course of the year. The new licenses will be valid until the end of 2022.

Italy is not one of the best places for gaming companies to set up shop, as there are other countries that offer greater tax incentives. The tax rate is 20% for games of skill (including poker tournaments), casino games and bingo. The rate rises to 22% for sports betting sites .

ADM is responsible for issuing various types of online gaming licenses. The licenses already issued a few years ago received extensions to be able to encompass the games that were slowly becoming legal. They include:

• Lotto games and lottery games.
• Card games, such as poker, and gambling with fixed odds.
• Games based on sporting events and horse racing.

For the new licenses, which will be issued from 2018, each of the gambling receives a particular endorsement, and the operator must follow certain rules and standards to obtain it. Accordingly, operators should apply for all games they wish to offer on their website.

In 2018, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli created a single self-exclusion register for betting sites and online casinos. This initiative has as its main objective the protection of compulsive gamblers, and even those who may be going down this path.

Therefore, from now on, the moment the player decides to exclude himself from the betting site, he can do it through the unique registration, which will make it impossible for him to resort to other sites to continue betting. That is, he will be barred from creating an account in all online casinos operating in Italy. This tool is a fantastic idea, but it's not the only player protection solution in vogue.

ADM places impositions and standards of responsible gaming and player protection that must be followed to the letter by all licensed sites. As of 2018, one of them is to facilitate the exclusion of players. Minors, of course, should be prohibited from accessing the games and bets.

Additionally, Italy is the first country to require a minimum return percentage to players, which differs from game to game. Skill game tournaments must have an RTP of at least 88.58%. Skill games must have an RTP of at least 97.45%. Casino games, on the other hand, must have an RTP of at least 97.03%.

The New ZealandCasinos team has been evaluating a number of online casinos and betting sites that accept New Zealand players since 2017. Our reviews are quite detailed and presented through an unbiased perspective, that is, written by players for players. You can find all of them available in Portuguese in the menu at the top of the page.

In addition to reviews of casinos and betting sites, we have also created online gaming manuals that can be useful to novice players. In them, you have access to the rules of each game, to specific strategies and to the best sites to bet or simply play for fun.

In addition, we talk about responsible gaming, provide free games, evaluate games and Game providers, and investigate the direction of legalization of online casinos in New Zealand .

Below, check out all the casinos licensed by Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli that have already been reviewed by our team. You can click on each of them to read our review and know their details before deciding where to bet.