The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) is expressing caution regarding the impending Italian decree on online gambling that is under deliberation within the Council of Ministers, claiming Italy’s online gambling black market is already one of Europe’s largest, valued at over €1 billion annually.

It says the proposed decree would make this situation worse, with "grave implications for the protection of Italian players."

From the EGBA:

Recent news reports suggest the decree will set an unprecedented €7 million license fee, far surpassing other EU Member States. EGBA believes that such a substantial increase in the license cost is unwarranted, particularly when compared to the country’s previous licensing tenders for online gambling operations. The proposed fee represents a 35-fold increase from the 2018 license fee of €200,000 and triples the Italian authorities’ previous license fee proposal of €2.5 million, which was never implemented.

EGBA stresses that this significant license fee hike will have severe consequences. The high fee will deter new market entrants and likely force existing licensees, especially smaller operators, out of the market. This would, EGBA believes, lead to a drastic cut in the number of licensed operators from the current 91 licensees to a mere 15-20, contributing a significant increase in the size of the country’s online gambling black market, posing inherit risks for player protection.
Read more here: https://www.egba.eu/news-post/egba-e...-license-fees/