Betting shops and retail: a presence that municipalities continue to regulate

In many Italian cities, a betting shop occupies an ordinary commercial premises, perhaps between a supermarket and a phone shop. Betting corners can be found inside bars, betting outlets and tobacconists. Coexistence with retail is now well established, but opening a betting outlet does not work like opening any other shop: specific licences and authorisations are required, and its location is subject to restrictions that do not apply to most commercial businesses.

As with the online channel, the collection of sports bets at physical outlets takes place exclusively within the network authorised by ADM. The issue that has occupied the Agency and local authorities in recent years is not so much the existence of these outlets as where they are located: how many operate in the same area, how far apart they are and in which districts they are concentrated.

In a city, after all, the overall number tells only part of the story. Ten outlets distributed across different areas have a different impact from ten businesses concentrated along a few shopping streets.

An extensive network, but not the same everywhere

According to the ADM Blue Book 2021, the network had 9.329 retail outlets for sports-based gaming.

An agency and a corner are not the same thing. At an agency, gaming is the main activity. At a corner, by contrast, it occupies part of a business that also performs other functions, such as a bar, betting outlet or tobacconist. This difference matters because it changes how the gaming outlet fits into the everyday commercial environment.

A dedicated betting shop is immediately recognisable. A corner, by contrast, may be located next to the counter or till, inside premises frequented for entirely different reasons.

The ADM SMART system provides authorities with data down to municipal level, making it possible to observe the distribution of the network across the area and the location of outlets in relation to places considered sensitive.

Distances vary from city to city

Over time, regional and municipal rules have been added to the national framework, focusing above all on distance restrictions from sensitive places. The criteria are not the same everywhere. Some examples:

• In Piedmont, the regional law 19/2021prohibits new openings within 400 metres, measured along the shortest pedestrian route, in municipalities with more than 5.000 inhabitants, such as Turin. Sensitive places also include credit institutions, ATM facilities, money transfer services and gold-buying businesses.
• In Milan, the reference threshold is 500 metres under Lombardy legislation and municipal rules. However, a ruling by the Lombardy Regional Administrative Court in January 2026 excluded the application of the regional distance rule to betting shops without AWP and VLT machines.

Responsibilities are divided among several levels: betting shop licences are handled through public security authorities, while urban-planning and territorial restrictions fall under the remit of municipalities and regions. The result is that the rules vary from one city to another, sometimes significantly.

A premises that meets the requirements in one city is therefore not automatically usable in the same way in another. Changing region or municipality is enough for the distances, the sensitive places taken into consideration or the conditions for a new opening to change.

Oversight does not stop after opening

Once the outlet has opened, ADM checks that betting collection takes place in compliance with the concession conditions: concession holders must also oversee the network of connected shops and corners, including anti-money-laundering obligations.

The shopfront may belong to an ordinary commercial business and a corner may occupy only part of the premises, but the gaming activity remains subject to the conditions laid down in the concession and to the associated checks.

The concentration of the network and proximity to certain places are not merely urban-planning issues: regions and municipalities have adopted their own rules and regulations on these matters.

The importance of information about the risks of gaming

Physical gaming outlets must display information about the risks of gaming and the prohibition on minors under the age of 18 from using them. In several regions, the legislation also provides for compulsory training for operators and staff.

These obligations also apply when gaming occupies only part of a larger business. The presence of other services on the same premises does not remove the rules applicable to the gaming activity.

Anyone who needs support can contact the Telefono Verde Nazionale per le problematiche legate al gioco d'azzardo of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità or find out about the self-exclusion tools available.

Betting shops and corners therefore remain part of urban retail, but under rules that also depend substantially on the local area. It is this overlap between the national network and local rules that explains why two apparently similar outlets may find themselves, from one city to another, in very different regulatory situations.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.