Italian Officials Announce New Measures against Illegal Gambling

Local tax authorities are preparing to launch an investigation into underground gambling operations in Italy.  

The new measures to stop illegal gambling in the country have been unveiled by Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, who warned that gaming rooms that break Italian gambling laws by operating without a proper authorization will be punished. Betting licenses are issued by Italy’s regulatory body, the Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies.

Authorities will be investigating suspicious transactions and have announced that both unlicensed operators and players who access illegal online gambling sites in Italy will face an immediate fine. The investigation will cover all forms of gambling, including poker, casino games, online and land-based operations.

Illegal gambling in Italy worth EUR122 million

The Italian Council of Ministers has recently presented a detailed report on tax evasion, which also includes a set of measures to reduce underground gambling. According to figures released by the Department of Finances, underground casinos and illegal websites cause the country to lose around EUR122 million in tax revenue.

A few weeks ago, UK-based PKR announced that it was shutting down its online poker site in Italy, adding that it was planning to “focus our efforts on markets which can more efficiently drive our business forward”. As of October 7, the website is no longer available in the country.