Many Italy casinos have been etched in European folklore, with former James Bond star Sean Connery famously winning $27,000 from just three spins of the roulette wheel at the Casino de la Vallee in Saint-Vincent back in 1967.
While casino gambling in Italy has since moved largely online, however, the country remains one of the main drivers of the burgeoning iGaming market on the continent.
Make no mistake, you can wager safely and freely online through these known websites, with Italian AAMS casino sites offering the best value and peace of mind to punters. But just how popular is online casino gambling in Italy, and how can you wager safely when visiting the country?
How Popular is Online Casino Gambling in Italy?
If we look at online casino gambling in Europe as a whole, we see that there are two main drivers of growth in the region.
More specifically, it’s the UK and Italy that typically boast the highest annual gross gambling revenues (GGRs) on the continent, with Germany, France and Spain trailing relatively closely behind.
In cumulative GGR in Europe peaked at approximately é24.7 billion by the end of 2020, with casino gambling dominating this yield. This total sum accounts for roughly 0.5% of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) on average, while it’s becoming an increasingly important part of Europe’s economic landscape.
Of course, the UK continues to dominate the online GGR in Europe, with this trend borne out in the figures for the year ending March 2011.
More specifically, the total GGY for online casino gameplay, remote sports betting and bingo peaked at a staggering £6.9 billion during this period. This figure represented an impressive 18.4% increase in the year ending March 2020, although this was partially driven by the coronavirus pandemic.
Of the chasing pack, however, the GGR of online gambling in Italy amounted to roughly é1.8 billion at the end of 2019. Once again, online casino games and poker iterations dominated this yield, accounting for é978 million overall.
Remote sports betting contributed a further é726 million during the reporting period, while both of these numbers increased incrementally through 2020 and 2021.
Further analysis of these data sets showed that online skill-based games generated by far the highest GGR of the sector, although slots and blackjack also highlighted considerable rates of growth in terms of participation.
At the same time, mobile casino gameplay is on the rise in Italy and the UK, with this making the iGaming market more accessible to players and increasing the GGR as a result.
This is further altering the Italian casino landscape too, of course, as a growing number of online licences are granted to operators and we see a significant increase in the range of native apps and responsive mobile websites available.
How to Wager Freely and Safely Online in Italy
While we may have answered the question of whether there are casinos in Italy and how commonplace they are online, you may still be unclear of how to wager safely at virtual establishments in the country.
Remember, you can wager at some online Italian casinos from neighbouring European countries, with poker and similar liquidity pacts in place between tItaly, France and Spain.
If there’s one important feature of any Italy online casino guide, it’s the crucial nature of identifying aforementioned AAMS-licensed casinos. ‘AAMS’ stands for the Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato (or the Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies), which is the regulatory body responsible for inspecting operators within the gambling sector.
As a result, the AAMS administers all licences in the iGaming space, with the entity's logo on a branded casino website indicative of a site and fully approved operator.
Ultimately, the most reputable and best online casinos in Italy carry the AAMS logo, which certifies that the platform in question is fully certified and legally recognised.
Typically, you’ll find these branding on the lower part of a casino’s homepage, and below the fold on a mobile casino Italia. If you stumble across a casino site that isn’t AAMS accredited, you can rest assured that the operator is rogue and the entity will be shut down by the authorities in due course.
You should definitely avoid wagering at this type of online casino Italia, as your personal details may be hacked any cash deposits or winnings that you bank are likely to prove inaccessible over time.
Once you’ve found one or more AAMS approved sites, your next step is to compare the market in further detail and identify the best and most relevant bonus offers.
This will afford you the optimal amount of free capital or spins to wager with on your preferred casino games, while also ensuring that you bet responsibly and within your financial means.
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