The Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) has ordered Italian internet providers to block 190 more gambling domains, with a compliance deadline of 20 August 2026.

The instruction was registered on 5 August 2026 under protocol number 00540333 and issued by ADM’s Gambling Controls Office. It is signed by Luca Turchi, the manager responsible, and addressed to all internet connectivity providers operating in Italy.

The note supplements the list published on 10 July 2026 and leaves earlier blocking measures in force. Providers must redirect the listed domains to ADM’s notice page and consult the consolidated list on the agency’s website to complete their procedures. The published list carries a header showing it was updated on 5 August and takes effect on 20 August.

How the blocking regime works

Italy blocks unauthorised gambling sites by administrative order. No court ruling is required. The power sits in Article 102, paragraph 1 of Decree-Law 104 of 14 August 2020, converted into Law 126 of 13 October 2020, which allows ADM to order connectivity and telecommunications providers to remove the initiatives of anyone offering or advertising products or services in ways that do not comply with the rules governing the gambling and tobacco sectors.

Paragraph 2 handles the procedure. Publication of an order on ADM’s institutional website counts as notification for all purposes, so internet service providers (ISPs) are expected to monitor the list on an ongoing basis rather than wait to be served individually.

The redirection destination changed this year. From the April 2026 publications onwards, ADM requires blocked domains to point exclusively at an HTTPS address, sito-inibito-giochi.adm.gov.it, which replaced the IP address used previously. A user who reaches a listed domain sees a page stating that the site has been blocked under Article 102.

A blacklist past 12,000 domains

ADM updates the list roughly monthly, and the totals have climbed through 2026. The blacklist stood at 11,825 domains in late January after 172 additions, and at 11,898 in early March after a further 73, according to figures reported by Italian trade press from the agency’s own updates. It passed 12,000 in late May, when ADM added 146 domains with an 11 June deadline.

The enforcement volume runs alongside one of Europe’s largest licensed markets. Italy’s online gambling sector generates around €5 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR), which gives licensed operators a direct commercial interest in how quickly unlicensed competitors lose access to Italian players. The scale of the offshore sector remains substantial: the Global Consulting Institute put unregulated online gambling turnover at $5.9 trillion in 2025.

Fonbet domains added after mirrors appeared

The previous round of blocking, effective 27 July, covered fonbet.com, fonbet.info and fonbetpoker.com. Reporting at the time by Il Fatto Quotidiano noted that fonbet.com was redirecting users to fonbet001.com, an address that did not appear on the list at that stage.

The August update adds fonbet-italy.com, fonbet001.com and fonbet003.com.

The sequence sets out the practical limit of domain-level enforcement. Each order covers named addresses only, and an operator that registers new ones stays reachable until the next publication. ADM’s monthly cadence, plus the 15-day implementation window given to providers, defines that interval. Regulators elsewhere have run into the same constraint, with Turkey widening its own crackdown beyond domain lists to payments and advertising.

The listings and the Pirlo appointment

The July round coincided with scrutiny of Fonbet’s sponsorship arrangement with Andrea Pirlo, a member of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad, who became a global ambassador for the Russian bookmaker in October 2025 while coaching United FC in the UAE.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) halted the process of appointing Pirlo as national team head coach in late July. Corriere della Sera reported that FIGC president Giovanni Malagò suspended the formal appointment after seeking legal clarification on the Fonbet contract. Pirlo confirmed on 27 July that he was no longer a candidate, posting a statement on Instagram.

“Throughout my career, first as a player and now as a coach, I have always carried out my work in full compliance with the laws of the countries where I have worked and with the contracts I have signed,” Pirlo said.

FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini subsequently offered his resignation over the decision.

The two matters are legally distinct. A listing under Article 102 rests on whether a site offers or advertises gambling in ways that do not comply with Italian rules. It is not a finding on the sponsorship, and it carries no penalty for Pirlo or for the FIGC.

Fonbet was founded in 1995 and operates more than 1,000 retail betting outlets in Russia. It was among the first operators authorised by Roskomnadzor, the Russian communications regulator, to run an online sportsbook, in 2016. It holds no Italian concession.

What happens before 20 August

The obligation created by the note falls on connectivity providers, not on the operators behind the listed domains, and the deadline is stated in mandatory terms. ADM has not published enforcement action against providers that miss a deadline, and the consolidated list on the agency’s website remains the authoritative reference for compliance.

Two questions sit with the next update. Whether the newly listed Fonbet addresses redirect to further unlisted mirrors before the 20 August cut-off will show how far the current cadence can keep pace. And with Italy’s gambling tax receipts down 8.4% in the first half of 2026, according to Ministry of Economy and Finance data, the political pressure on ADM to demonstrate results from the blocking regime is unlikely to ease.

 

 

 

 

Source: Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli | theigaming