Italy Collected Over €3bn in Gaming Taxes in H1, With Machines Down 6%

Italian gaming tax receipts passed €3.04 billion (about $3.3 billion) in the first half of 2026, according to figures published by the State General Accounting Department covering the category assigned to the sector.

Physical gaming machines remain the engine. The Prelievo Erariale Unico (PREU), the single levy applied to those terminals, brought in €2.44 billion over the period, roughly 80% of the total collected under that heading. That figure is down 6% year on year, from around €2.6 billion in the first half of 2025.

The rest of the take is spread across products. Instant lottery ticket sales contributed €929.5 million on their own and the traditional Lotto another €584.6 million, while levies on the telematic concessions network and bingo sessions added more than €200 million.

The published numbers need care. The Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) issues quarterly bulletins using varying statistical scopes, which makes a straight comparison across all categories unreliable.

The receipts matter more than usual against Italy's 2026 budget adjustment, which projects an additional roughly €807 million from non-tax revenue tied to the betting sector.

The declining machine line is the number to watch, since it carries four fifths of the total while shrinking. Land-based gaming is under similar pressure in Britain, where operators have closed 540 high street betting shops since the last Budget. Italy is also the second market, after the UK, where Flutter has integrated PokerStars into local brands Sisal and SNAI.