The gaming market is growing, but without revenue benefits

The Italian public gaming market continues to grow at a rapid pace, but the increase in betting and of the bets does not translate into greater revenue for the State.

In 2025 the gross collection reached i 165.3 billion eurosup by 7.9 billion compared to the 157.4 billion in 2024 (+4.8%) and by 17.6 billion compared to the 147.7 billion in 2023 (+11.9% in the two-year period). The treasury revenue they instead stood at 11.47 billion, a slight decrease compared to the 11.56 billion in 2024 (-0.7%) and the 11.63 billion in 2023 (-1.3% in the three-year period).

Declining revenue yield

Il gross tax return it thus fell from 7.9% in 2023 to 6.9% in 2025, while the net one, calculated on the collection net of winnings, decreased from 55.9% to 50.8%, marking the lowest levels in recent years. This was revealed by an analysis by the Study Center of Unimpresaaccording to which the phenomenon describes a structural transformation of the market.

Online gaming boom

In 2025 i online games they exceeded 100.8 billion in collections for the first time, equal to over 60% of the national total, while the physical channel fell below 65 billion.

The ones driving the sector are above all the remote skill games – online poker, virtual casinos and card games – which alone raise 81.2 billion, almost half of the entire market, but guarantee the State a gross tax return of just 1.1%, with revenues of 875 million, just 7.6% of the overall revenue.

Role of slot machines and video lotteries

Opposite situation for slot machine and video lottery, which with 31.5 billion in collections produce over 5 billion in revenue, almost 44% of the sector’s tax revenue.

In 2025 the you win distributed to players reached 143.5 billion euros, equal to 86.8% of the collection, while the gross margin of the sector stood at 21.9 billion.

Margins and value distribution

Of these, 11.5 billion went to the Treasury and 10.4 billion constituted the net operating margin of the supply chain – dealers, managers, distributors, tobacconists and retailers – growing by approximately 400 million compared to 2024.

Impact on operators and public budget

Basically, highlight Unimpresathe growth of the market has favored private operators, while the public budget remained essentially still.

The analysis also highlights how the progressive migration towards digital, associated with types of games characterized by a tax levy more limited, is structurally compressing the performance of the sector.

Market concentration

At the same time the concentration process of the market, with a few large operators acquiring smaller dealers, further strengthening the weight of the online channel.

The picture of 2025, the first year of full application of the remote gaming reform and the tax changes introduced by the budget law, therefore shows a sector in strong commercial expansion but increasingly less profitable for public finances: in the last three years, collections have increased by 17.6 billion, winnings by 16.4 billion and the margin of the supply chain by 1.1 billion, while tax revenue has decreased by 155 million euros.

Responsible gaming and protection

“The growth of online game requires moving the debate from the sole fiscal dimension to the social one. When over 60% of the collection passes through digital platforms, it becomes essential to strengthen the tools education, prevention e responsible gamingespecially towards the most exposed categories.

Technology offers important opportunities, but it also makes access to the game easier and more continuous. For this reason, the modernization of the sector should proceed together with greater investments in consumer protection, transparency and monitoring of risky behaviour.

The sustainability of this market is not only measured by turnover or revenue, but also by the ability to reconcile innovation, social responsibility and protection of people”, comments the president of Unimpresa, Paolo Longobardi.