Italian Gambling Spend Hits €170bn in 2025 — Equal to 7.2% of the Country’s GDP

Italian consumers spent an estimated €170 billion on gambling in 2025, according to a study by the association Unsic, as reported by L’Unione Sarda.

Gambling expenditure now accounts for around 7.2% of Italy’s GDP, a figure that has been rising in recent years and exceeds the state’s combined spending on healthcare and education.

Roughly €100 billion comes from the online sector, where sports betting leads the market, followed by online casinos. Land-based venues generate another €70 billion, largely driven by lotteries and in-person sports betting. Unsic notes that about 75% of all gambling spend is returned to players in the form of winnings.

The analysis shows that the highest gambling outlays are recorded in the southern regions of Campania, Sicily and Calabria. Elevated levels of activity are also seen in northern tourist hotspots such as the Lake Garda and Lake Como areas, as well as the Ligurian coast.

Experts estimate that around 1.5 million Italians suffer from gambling addiction.

A separate section of the report focuses on Sardinia. In 2024, land-based gambling spend on the island amounted to €1,678 per resident, compared with the national average of €1,563. Sardinia’s index of active online gambling accounts — calculated as the number of active accounts relative to the region’s population — also exceeds the national figure, 0.38 versus 0.34.

Gambling Park earlier reported that Italy’s gross gaming revenue reached €21.6 billion in 2024.