Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) will give online gambling customers a formal channel to escalate unresolved disputes with licensed operators, starting September 10, as part of its continued reorganization of the country’s online gambling sector.
Named “Portale delle segnalazioni,” the new system centralizes the handling of disputes between customers and licensed online gambling operators. Customers register a complaint using SPID or Italy’s electronic identity card (CIE) and provide details of their player account along with the name of the operator concerned.
According to the ADM, it will not intervene at the initial stage of a complaint, which must first be addressed directly between the customer and the licensee. Operators are required to respond within 72 working hours, a period calculated on business days and excluding public holidays.
A customer can escalate a complaint to ADM if the operator fails to respond within the deadline, or if the customer considers the response unsatisfactory or insufficient to resolve the dispute.
Once ADM takes up a case, it reviews the operator’s original response and can open a supplementary investigation, giving the licensee an additional 72-hour period to submit further information.
Depending on its findings, ADM can issue operational directions to the operator or pursue additional measures if it identifies a breach of licensing obligations. Once ADM issues its final response, the complaint is considered closed and cannot be resubmitted.
The complaints portal follows ADM’s ongoing collaboration with state-owned IT provider SOGEI to build a “protective shield” for Italy’s regulated online gambling market, a cybersecurity framework intended to prevent consumers from accessing unlicensed operators.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has endorsed the project as Italy works to protect tax revenue from its gambling sector during its shift toward online platforms.
Funding for the initiative comes in part from Italy’s new online gambling licensing regime, under which 48 operators secured concessions priced at €7 million ($8.05 million) each. ADM Director Roberto Alesse has pointed to the resources generated by the new regime as central to the agency’s increased oversight of the sector
The consumer protection measures for online gambling stand in contrast to the state of reform for Italy’s land-based gambling sector, where progress remains stalled.
Last week, the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni removed the Reorganization Decree for land-based gambling from its parliamentary agenda for the remainder of 2026.
The decision followed Meloni’s rejection of a proposed settlement on licensing terms and nationwide rules for land-based gambling, negotiated between MEF and Italy’s autonomous regions.
Whether negotiations resume in 2027 remains uncertain, with the Meloni government’s attention turning to the upcoming budget cycle and a political calendar shaped by Italy’s next general election.