ADM shuts two illegal betting venues in Sicily as Italy’s land-based reform wait drags on

Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) said it closed two unauthorised betting premises during checks on 14 venues across Sicily and issued fines of more than €20,000. For PSPs and operators in high-risk gaming, the important bit is not just the enforcement: Italy is still stuck in the familiar gap between rulebook and reality.

1. ADM’s Sicily 6 office in Porto Empedocle carried out inspections together with provincial Guardia di Finanza (GdF) officers at 14 betting shops and gaming halls in Agrigento, Favara, Raffadali, Palma di Montechiaro, Campobello di Licata, Ribera and the Pelagie Islands.
2. Two venues were found to be operating as unauthorised betting centres. At one site in Porto Empedocle, officers seized computer terminals that were allegedly disconnected from Italy’s national gaming network and did not have the mandatory identification codes.
3. According to ADM, that setup let operators bypass the counters that record wagers, which could mean avoiding the single national gaming levy (PREU) applied to turnover on gaming devices. The case was referred to the Agrigento prosecutor’s office on suspicion of illegal betting activity, and ADM and GdF said the investigation is still ongoing.
4. The operation landed while lawmakers continue to wrangle over Italy’s land-based gambling framework. Last month, delayed reforms were pushed back again, with the Reorganisation Decree now reportedly set to be fully implemented by August 2026 instead of December.
5. There is also fresh tax chatter in Rome: the Senate has introduced a bill proposing a 2 per cent levy on all domestic football bets to fund sport’s development. It would cover bets placed in shops and online on FIGC matches and affiliated leagues, without adding to the overall tax burden, according to the text.

For high-risk operators and payment providers, Italy is doing what it often does: enforcement keeps moving while the legislative overhaul takes its time. That combination usually means more scrutiny at venue level, more pressure on licensed channels, and less room for anything that looks even faintly off-network.