Italy’s 2027 budget bill, in the certified text now heading to parliament, would raise the PREU machine levy on slots (AWP) from 24% to 25% from 1 January 2027 and on video lottery terminals from 8.6% to 9.6%, double the maximum stake and prize on slot games and extend land-based gaming concessions to the end of 2029. The package is estimated to raise about €952 million in 2027, according to the bill’s accompanying documents as reported by iGaming Business.
The levy increase is not uniform. Slots paying out at least 70% in prizes would instead pay a reduced PREU rate of 20%, creating a two-tier structure that rewards higher-return machines.
Alongside the tax change, the bill doubles the maximum stake per slot game from €1 to €2 and the maximum prize from €100 to €200. The technical report underpinning the bill assumes slot takings rise by about 30% under the new stake limits, a projection that does much of the work in the revenue forecasts.
On concessions, betting, slot, VLT and bingo licences due to expire on 31 December 2026 would be extended to the end of 2029. Under the extension, betting shops will pay €14,250 a year per right where gambling is the main business and €8,550 where it is a secondary activity. Slot and VLT network concessionaires will pay €150 per slot permit and €7,500 per VLT right for the full extension period, while bingo halls face monthly fees of between €6,500 and €14,500, linked to each hall’s card sales.
The lottery verticals are also touched. The Gratta e Vinci scratchcard concession is extended to 2029 for €188 million, and Lotto and SuperEnalotto would each gain an extra weekly draw.
In a separate provision, the bill creates a licensing regime for esports and LAN gaming halls offering skill games without cash prizes. Operators would need authorisation from the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, with fees of €200 per device, €1,000 per hall and €10,000 per online platform, and betting of any kind would be banned in these venues.
The bill also includes a settlement scheme for the long-running disputes over a 2015 levy on slot machines. On the revenue side, the largest items are €334 million from the PREU increase, €281 million from the concession extensions and €188 million from scratchcards, with the 2015 levy settlement potentially adding €71.62 million if all parties take part.
The headline €952 million figure is more than the €700 million Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the previous week. Looking further out, the technical report puts the PREU rise and concession extensions alone at nearly €2 billion over 2027 to 2029.
Notably, the bill text contains no new levy on online gambling and no change to the lottery commission, or aggio, confirming expectations that retail would bear most of the burden. Earlier reports had suggested the fiscal contribution could fall on lotteries and online gambling instead.
The changes have drawn criticism from the land-based sector, according to Agimeg. Trade association As.Tro has called an extraordinary meeting of its technical committee to assess the impact of the slot and VLT measures, Jamma reported.
The measures are not final. The bill goes first to the Chamber of Deputies, where hearings are expected to start around 5 November, with amendments due by 17 November. Parliament must approve the budget by 31 December, leaving a window in which the levy rates, stake and prize limits and concession terms could all be reworked.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed under the GamblingZine editorial verification process.
Sources
- Italy budget: Higher slot tax, double stakes and concessions to 2029 — Authoritative secondary source (published 2026-11-02)
Reporting verified against the sources above; retrieval timestamps are preserved in the editorial record.