Italy’s draft 2027 budget law would double the maximum stake and prize on cash-prize amusement machines and raise the PREU gaming levy by one percentage point, according to the Relazione Illustrativa accompanying the text of the Manovra 2027, as reported by Italian trade outlet Agimeg. Article 23 of the draft deals with AWP machines regulated under Article 110(6)(a) of the TULPS (Royal Decree 773 of 18 June 1931), updating stake and prize limits and the PREU rate while introducing a fiscal benefit for machines offering a higher payout percentage.
Under comma 1 of Article 23, the maximum cost per game on an AWP would rise to €2 and the maximum prize to €200 — levels that had remained unchanged since 2006 and that would therefore be doubled. The Relazione argues that the new values, although doubled, appear in line with the increase in the cost of living and consistent with the parameters of other land-based games.
Comma 2 increases the PREU rate by one percentage point for machines under both Article 110(6)(a) and (b) of the TULPS: from 24% to 25% for AWP and from 8.6% to 9.6% for VLT. Comma 3 then introduces a five-percentage-point PREU reduction for AWP machines programmed to guarantee a payout percentage of no less than 70%, applicable for the periods in which those machines are in operation.
Adherence to the higher-payout regime would be optional. Operators choosing it would need to update the software in the machines’ game boards, with updated models required to undergo technical verification by certification bodies for prototype certification, be homologated, put into production and then obtain distribution and operating clearances (nulla osta). The Relazione says the fiscal benefit is intended to encourage renewal of the machine fleet and to offset the associated investment costs, allowing concessionaires to plan the work gradually.
The stated rationale for the intervention is to support turnover and the related tax take, including by countering the shift of demand toward the illegal circuit or toward other forms of gambling. The Relazione says the AWP segment is recording a progressive contraction in both turnover and erarial revenue, attributable among other things to the reduced number of machines in operation, territorial and time-based restrictions, the growing spread of online gambling and reduced investment in product innovation.
The gaming sector features in the budget’s wider financing framework: the Relazione states that the effects of rationalising and making ministerial spending more efficient, resources from anti-evasion measures and measures weighing on the financial sector and the gaming sector all contribute to financing the manovra.
Article 24 turns to no-cash-prize amusement machines, updating the sector’s regulatory framework and completing the regularisation of machines installed before the current technical and administrative rules came into force. Comma 1 amends Article 110(7)(a) of the TULPS to expressly include mechanical machines among permitted devices and raises the maximum cost per game from €1 to €2 which, combined with the existing prize cap of twenty times that cost, lifts the maximum prize value to €40. The Relazione says the aim is to broaden the amusement offer by allowing entirely mechanical devices in the category commonly known as pesche or gru — claw and fishing machines awarding small prizes that are always visible to the player.
The transitional regime under Article 110(7-ter) of the TULPS for certain no-cash-prize machines, extended year by year, ceases to have effect on 31 December 2026. Comma 2 of Article 24 makes the regularisation of eligible machines conditional on a one-off payment of €1,000 per device, justified by the lower costs of the procedure compared with ordinary prototype certification.
Comma 3 provides that non-compliance causes the temporary operating clearance to lapse and the machines to be confiscated. It also introduces an administrative fine of between €100 and €500 where a machine is installed somewhere other than the location declared in the self-certification filed with ADM, while discrepancies between a machine’s actual and declared characteristics would continue to attract the existing sanctions under Article 110(9)(c) of the TULPS.
Article 25 addresses a segment that has so far operated without dedicated rules. It introduces a regulatory framework for so-called e-games — videogames offered via connection to online platforms in dedicated LAN (Local Area Network) rooms — which the Relazione describes as widespread in Italy but lacking specific regulation, creating legal and tax uncertainty. Comma 1(a) inserts a new letter c-quater) into Article 110(7) of the TULPS covering no-cash-prize machines offering games of pure skill and entertainment delivered as digital content through remote access to online platforms inside dedicated LAN rooms, including consoles, PCs, tablets and similar devices with dedicated peripherals, operating without connection to the ADM network.
According to the Relazione, the provision aligns with settled case law that has held such equipment substantially comparable to no-cash-prize amusement machines, while retaining peculiarities that justify a specific regime. The article also covers multi-station machines, excludes the application of Article 38(3), (4), (5) and (5-bis) of Law 388 of 23 December 2000, and delegates the technical and administrative rules to the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli.
Comma 1(b) inserts a new comma 7.2 into Article 110 of the TULPS, making both the operation of LAN rooms and the installation of the machines subject to specific authorisations from ADM, with detailed rules on authorisations, tournament participation and platform, game and venue requirements left to subsequent ADM measures.
The provisions described are those contained in the draft Manovra 2027 and its accompanying Relazione Illustrativa as reported by Agimeg.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed under the GamblingZine editorial verification process.
Sources
- Manovra 2027: stretta su slot e Vlt, proroga onerosa delle concessioni, nuova estrazione Lotto e SuperEnalotto, nuove regole per sale LAN e giochi senza vincita in denaro. Ecco la Relazione Illustrativa — Independent reporting (published 2026-11-02)
Reporting verified against the sources above; retrieval timestamps are preserved in the editorial record.