Unibet and Betway Out, Flutter Emerges in Italy’s New iGaming Market

Unibet and Betway are among the first operators who may leave Italy after the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli restructured the country’s iGaming licensing framework. The first phase of the new online gambling legislation went into effect on November 13, and the deadline for applications in the new framework ended, with Unibet and Betway failing to submit an application before the extended deadline passed.

Of 50 available licenses, 46 have secured by operators under the new structure. They will have to pay an increased license fee, comply with stricter legislation, and they cannot run sister sites or affiliate skins. The latter was one of the biggest conditions of the new policy. In addition to that, Italy is going to roll out new player safety measures for February of next year, as the iGaming sector looks at a full reset.

Focusing the Italian iGaming Sector and Purging Skin Sites

The big news that hit the Italian media about the ADM slashing betting sites from 407 to 52 was difficult to ignore. Italy has one of the largest iGaming and mobile sports betting industries in Europe, and it is worth just over €21 billion annually. The crackdown immediately wiped out over 87% of Italy’s sports betting sites, which included countless skins, sister sites, affiliate betting sites, and other sub-licensed operators. That is not to say all licensed Italian sports betting sites launched these kinds of skin sites, but there were a handful of brands that heavily saturated the market. The biggest being Vincitu’ srl (with over 120+ sites when we covered the news), and E-Play 24 ITA Ltd (50+ sites at that time).

Brands leaving Italy as of now:

• Unibet
• Betway
• Betaland
• Betn1
• 1xBet

Between then and now, 46 operators submitted applications for the new Italian iGaming licenses, but Unibet, Betway, Betaland, Betn1 and 1xBet were not among them. The original deadline for the applications was marked 17 September, after which the applying operators would have 6 months to get their products in order. The ADM extended the deadline to November 12, and any operators who failed to meet the deadline, would see out their legacy licenses and have to exit Italy between now and March 2026.

It is quite a positive turnout with only a handful of operators deciding to run out their licenses in Italy, but this is just the beginning. The operators need to prove that they are fully compliant with the new legislation, and unravel their legacy system (skins, affiliates, etc) until March 2026. Applying does not necessarily mean they will gain the approval for new iGaming licenses, nor does it rule out the possibility of more operators deciding to hang up their boots and join Unibet, Betway and 1xBet in leaving the country.

Some forecasts predicted Italy’s market will fall again to just 30-35 operators by the end of 2025, as smaller companies and those with less market exposure will struggle to compete with the new taxation, licensing fees and restricted marketing possibilities.

New Licensing Landscape and Fees

The previous licensing fee cost €200,000, and in its place, the new license costs operators €7 million for a 9 year term. The sports betting tax was also raised from 24% to 24.5% with operators subject to an annual fee set at 3% of their GGR. They will also be required to pay at least 0.2% of their GGR on responsible gambling initiatives, though this will be capped at a maximum of €1 million.

Italy’s gambling regulator, the ADM, is also redefining the country’s AML systems and consumer protection initiatives. Licensed operators have to include messages to inform users of the expiry of the previous laws, and the transition to the new licensed platforms. They will carry messages about the updated limits regarding spending, deposits and session times. Another part of the legislation is to have players re-verify their ID, and their accounts can only go live after they are verified by the Tax Registry systems operated by Sogei.

While these will all strengthen the security systems and create a more structured environment for players, they do make it far more difficult for smaller companies and brands. The AML compliance, heightened fees and Italy’s restrictions on gambling marketing create challenges for these operators. And, on the other end of the spectrum, it gives the larger companies, which can afford the fees and handle the updated security protocols, a chance to scale their products.

2026 Player Protection Laws

The second part of the reform will come to fruition at the end of January 2026. From February 1, players will be able to set deposit limits, set session times, and temporarily or permanently self-exclude from all licensed operators. The self-exclusion will be a bit like the UK’s GamStop, or Dutch KSA’s Krux register, which involves all licensed operators.

The previous self-exclusion option gave Italians 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, or an indefinite exclusion from all gambling activities. The ADM’s new partial self-exclusion mechanisms, which will hit the shelves in February 2026, will allow players to self-exclude from selective gambling activities. Therefore, they will still be able to access their account and perhaps even partake in some games or products, except for the selected activities that the user feels more prone to and wants to self-exclude from.

Operators must be clearer about their KYC, AML and player protection policies, communicating to players about any new measures or requirements. The big worry for operators is the costs that will be required to comply with these laws, and the operational complexities that may prove too dear or resource-consuming for smaller operators.

Among the regulatory changes of Phase 1, there will also be overhauls for landbased Italian casinos, bingo halls, iGaming venues, and national betting franchises. Taxation, marketing, and AML policies will tighten across the board, as Italy looks to reset its iGaming market and build for the future.

Flutter Bolstering its Italian Portfolio

Flutter Entertainment, owner of many brands including FanDuel and William Hill, is doubling down on Italy. It already owns licensed Italian operators such as Sisal, Snaitech and Betfair, and recently Flutter integrated the popular Tombola bingo style products to the Sisal platform. The goal being to attract not only sports bettors but to also bring in casual casino gamers and bingo enthusiasts.

The market will be far less diluted, and companies like Flutter will have a chance to exert more dominance in the consolidated Italian iGaming sector. In the longer run, Flutter and similarly large companies could drive out more small scale operators, on reputation and influence (in addition to the restrictions), and gain a significant part of Italy’s online gambling revenue by 2026. Some industry experts suggest that 5 top operators could account for 80% of Italy’s remote GGR.

Looking Into Italy’s Longterm iGaming Market

Flutter Entertainment is not backing down and is quite clearly leading the pack with innovative new projects and regulatory compliance. It probably won’t be long before other major operators give chase to Flutter with new products, expanded offerings possibly rebrands, and maybe even buying up smaller existing brands. Italy is a top player in the European gaming market and its sports betting industry is only going upwards, so naturally as the space clears up and a pathway forward appears, larger brands will most likely jump in to seize a piece of the action.

There is a lot to get excited about as a player, with no more skins, better compliance, safer gaming and betting platforms, and high competition driving the operators to outdo one another. The potential boom is nigh, and Italy’s gambling market looks set to soar. Italy could serve as an exemplary model for the rest of Europe, if it doesn’t scare away operators, or create too many restrictions on players, and this could serve it well in the long run.