Italian Customs and Monopoly Agency (ADM) Releases 2024 Financial Report, Highlighting Gaming Sector Achievements
The Italian Customs and Monopoly Agency (ADM) has published its “2024 Financial Report,” detailing key achievements and financial outcomes across its various sectors. A significant portion of the report focuses on the gaming industry, outlining regulatory reforms, efforts to combat illegal gambling, and initiatives to protect vulnerable individuals.
Key Highlights from the Gaming Sector
The ADM played a crucial role in shaping gaming sector regulations, particularly with Legislative Decree No. 41 of March 25, 2024. This decree addresses the reorganization of the gaming sector, with a focus on remote gaming, in accordance with Article 15 of Law No. 111 of August 9, 2023.
Furthermore, the agency continued its fight against illegal gambling through the Committee for the Prevention and Repression of Illegal Gambling and the Protection of Minors (Co.PRe.G.I.). This committee aims to improve coordination between central and regional institutions to ensure effective control operations. The ADM also analyzed applications developed by its technology partner to better identify risks and instances of non-compliance with current regulations.
Initiatives to Enhance Legality and Player Protection
The ADM has implemented several initiatives aimed at:
- Improving the quality of public gaming offerings.
- Protecting vulnerable individuals.
- Combating illegal gambling.
- Streamlining tools to counter problem gambling.
- Enhancing security and control within the public gaming network.
- Combating fraud against the treasury.
These initiatives include analyzing the public gaming sector to ensure that reforms reduce the risks associated with gambling disorders, strengthen controls on underage gambling (in cooperation with law enforcement and other relevant authorities), involve the Committee for the Prevention and Repression of Illegal Gambling, and finalize procedures for awarding new gaming concessions, considering the need for balanced geographical distribution of legal gaming venues.
Strategic Objectives and Performance Indicators
The report also outlines the strategic objectives for 2024, as defined in the agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the 2024-2026 period.
Objective 6: Elevating the Quality of Public Gaming, Protecting Vulnerable Individuals, and Combating Illegal Gambling
The indicators related to Objective 6 reflect the ADM’s governance of the gaming sector through effective oversight and control to protect vulnerable individuals and combat illegal offerings. Key performance indicators include:
- “Index of Supervision of Betting Shops, Bingo Halls, and VLTs”: The target of 33% was exceeded, achieving 39.9% with 2,710 out of 6,863 registered establishments inspected.
- “Number of Inspections of Online Gaming Platforms, VLT, Bingo, and Betting Systems, and Number of Controls on Criteria and Processes Performed by Certification Bodies”: 22 inspections were completed, surpassing the planned 18.
- “Number of Websites Offering Illegal Gaming Blocked During the Year”: 721 websites were blocked, significantly exceeding the target of 300, due to extensive operations by the agency and reports from law enforcement and judicial authorities.
All institutional indicators were fully achieved, including:
- “Number of Controls Aimed at Combating Underage Gambling”: 13,004 controls were conducted, exceeding the planned 12,000.
Public value indicators related to combating drug trafficking, smuggling, counterfeiting, and protecting public health (especially minors) also showed positive results. In 2024, 1,889 reports were issued, leading to the seizure of 14,235 kilograms of narcotics.
Additionally, 1,128 reports were issued for smuggling, resulting in the seizure of 29,052,571 items weighing 162,801 kilograms. 8,801 reports were issued for counterfeiting, Made in Italy violations, and product safety issues.
Gaming Sector Revenue and Controls
The report also provides a summary of the revenues collected by the ADM in 2024, broken down by sector and compared to the previous two years.
In the gaming sector, the total amount wagered in 2024 reached €157.45 billion, an increase of 6.59% compared to the previous year. The total spend, calculated by subtracting winnings (€135.87 billion) from the total amount wagered, was €21.577 billion, a 4.38% increase from the previous year. However, gaming tax revenues experienced a slight decrease of 0.6% compared to 2023.
The data indicates a decrease in revenue for AWP (Amusement with Prize) and numerical lottery games, while virtual betting and remote skill games (casino games, cash games, etc.) saw significant increases in revenue, with corresponding increases in tax revenue (+18.14% and +16.73%, respectively).
The ADM also reported that 28,031 controls were carried out in the gaming sector in 2024.
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