Italian land casinos

Italy has great food tradition, a long history of football excellence and some of the nicest tourist attractions in the world. But it is not very well known for its land casinos. And rightly so.

In fact, there are only 4 brick and mortar casinos in Italy: all of them are in the North of the country and one of them is technically in Switzerland. This means that Italians have very few chances to find a land casino and play there at each one’s favorite casino games. How did this happen?

The main reason is a political and financial one. The government has imposed its own monopolistic views on the casino industry. The casino company is required to have a license and the State makes sure that only those four venues get one. It even appointed a government agency called AAMS to make sure everybody obeys to this rule and that non-complying organizations are banned and punished. Going to one of the 4 licensed casinos can be a feasible solution for players living in Milan or in Genoa, since they are very close to the casinos of Campione d’Italia and Sanremo. With about one hour drive they can find themselves sitting at a blackjack table or in front of a slot machine.

But what about those who live in the Center or in the South of Italy? For them, needless to say, there are very few alternatives. One of them is online casinos, which explains why online gambling is so successful in Italy. Another one is mobile gaming, people playing on their cell phone. Another (and not recommended) alternative is playing at illegal machines which are found virtually everywhere in the South of Italy: these video poker machines are widely considered to be the most popular gambling game in the country.

The ultimate alternative is to play at another land casino, which not in Italy but is only at a few minutes’ drive from the French border: the famous casino of Montecarlo.