Best online sportsbook Italy comes down to one brand among the names this site reviews, and the twist isn’t the license — it’s what that license still doesn’t let bet365 do once it has it. Decreto Dignità has banned gambling advertising outright in Italy since January 2019, and that ban doesn’t carve out an exception for operators who actually hold a concession.
bet365: the One Name With an ADM Concession
bet365 operates in Italy through an ADM concession held by Hillside (New Media Malta) PLC, one of 46 operators that cleared Italy’s licensing reform when the old multi-domain system reset into 52 nine-year concessions on November 13, 2025, at roughly €7 million per license. The Italian concession doesn’t split by vertical the way some markets this site has researched do — one grant bundles sports betting with slots, live dealer tables, and poker under the same login, so a sportsbook account and a casino account from bet365 are the same account in Italy.
What bet365’s Italian concession actually covers
- Licensing entity: Hillside (New Media Malta) PLC
- Regulator: Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM)
- Products under one concession: sports betting, slots, live tables, poker
- Market reset: November 13, 2025 — 52 nine-year concessions, 46 operators, €7 million entry fee each
- Sports betting tax: 24.5% of gross gaming revenue under the reformed regime
The Advertising Ban Nobody Expects From a Licensed Market
Most countries this site has researched treat a license as the finish line — get regulated, and marketing follows. Italy split those two things apart in 2019. Decreto Dignità bans essentially all gambling advertising and sponsorship in the country: no stadium boards, no shirt deals, no promotional emails or social posts, in any medium, for any operator. It doesn’t matter whether that operator holds a current ADM concession or none at all — the fines, running up to 20% of a sponsorship deal’s value or €50,000, whichever is higher, apply the same way. bet365’s license makes the product legal. It doesn’t make the brand visible.
A licensed operator and an invisible one, on paper, look the same from a billboard. That’s the practical effect of Decreto Dignità: an Italian bettor can’t use ad presence as a signal of anything, because the law erases that signal for every operator equally, licensed or not.
Why the Rest of the Roster Fails a Step Earlier
Nothing else this site reviews gets far enough to run into the advertising ban, because none of it holds an ADM concession to begin with. DraftKings and PrizePicks aren’t among the 46 operators Italy cleared into the 2025-2026 reform, and PrizePicks’ own eligibility terms separately cap entries to US addresses. BetOnline.ag and Bovada hold no concession either — BetOnline sits inside a national blocklist that grew by 190 domains in a single order dated August 5, 2026, while Bovada’s own signup flow was never built for a player outside the US. Roobet and Rainbet run entirely on cryptocurrency, a rail no ADM concession can touch since licensed transactions must move through traceable euro channels overseen jointly with the Bank of Italy; Roobet goes further and names Italy directly on its own restricted-territory list.
Kalshi and Polymarket: a Different Reason, Same Result
Kalshi and Polymarket don’t fail the way an unlicensed sportsbook does — Italian gambling law has no license category for an event-contract exchange at all, so there was never an application either platform could file. Both landed on the same 293-domain ADM blocklist sweep, completed by July 27, 2026, closing off any question of which one Italian regulators consider the safer bet.
So What’s the Actual Answer?
bet365, and it’s the only name on this roster that clears Italy’s licensing bar at all. What makes Italy different from France, Spain, or Germany — the other markets where this site has found bet365 as the lone licensed pick — is Decreto Dignità: holding the concession doesn’t buy bet365 a single ad, sponsorship, or promotional email anywhere in the country. This is 18+ entertainment with a built-in house edge, not a way to make money, regardless of which name holds the license or how quietly it has to operate.
The short list
- 1. bet365 — The only ADM-licensed sportsbook this site reviews
Operates in Italy through an ADM concession held by Hillside (New Media Malta) PLC, covering sports betting alongside slots, live dealer tables, and poker under one account. Bound by Decreto Dignità's advertising ban like every other Italian concessionaire — no ads, no sponsorships, licensed or not.
The honest verdict
bet365 is the honest pick, and the reason isn't close: it's the only brand this site reviews holding a genuine Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli concession that covers sports betting, run through Hillside (New Media Malta) PLC, and that same concession bundles in casino games, live tables, and poker under one account — the widest single login this site has found researching Italy. What bet365 can't do is tell anyone about it. Decreto Dignità has banned essentially all gambling advertising and sponsorship in Italy since January 2019 — no stadium boards, no shirt deals, no promotional content in any medium — with fines running to 20% of a deal's value or €50,000, whichever is higher, and that ban applies to bet365 exactly as it applies to every other ADM concessionaire. DraftKings and PrizePicks aren't on the list of 46 operators cleared into Italy's 2025-2026 licensing reform at all, and PrizePicks' own eligibility terms cap entries to US addresses regardless. BetOnline.ag and Bovada hold no ADM concession either — BetOnline sits inside a national blocklist that grew by 190 domains in a single August 2026 order, while Bovada's signup flow was never built for a non-US player to begin with. Roobet and Rainbet run exclusively on cryptocurrency, a rail ADM concessions can't use because licensed transactions have to move through traceable euro channels jointly overseen with the Bank of Italy; Roobet also names Italy directly on its own restricted-territory terms. Kalshi and Polymarket were both blocked in the same 293-domain ADM sweep completed July 27, 2026 — Italian law simply has no license category for an event-contract exchange to apply under. None of this is a way to make money. It's 18+ entertainment with a built-in house edge, available from exactly one licensed name, and that name can't legally tell you it exists.
Questions this list actually answers
What is the best online sportsbook in Italy?
Among the brands this site reviews, bet365 is the only one holding a real ADM concession for sports betting in Italy, run through Hillside (New Media Malta) PLC. The concession also covers slots, live tables, and poker in the same account. Nothing else on this roster clears Italy's licensing bar — DraftKings and PrizePicks were never approved into the 2025-2026 reform, BetOnline.ag and Bovada hold no concession at all, and Kalshi and Polymarket are both on ADM's active blocklist.
Is bet365 legal in Italy?
Yes, for sports betting specifically. bet365 operates under an ADM concession through its Hillside (New Media Malta) PLC entity, one of 46 operators that cleared Italy's licensing reform when the old system reset into 52 nine-year concessions on November 13, 2025. That license is real and current, and it's the one credential this roster's other sportsbook names don't have.
Why can't I find a single bet365 ad in Italy?
Decreto Dignità. Since January 2019, Italian law has banned essentially all gambling advertising and sponsorship — no stadium boards, no shirt sponsorships, no promotional emails or social content — in any medium, for every operator, licensed or not. Fines for a violation run to 20% of the deal's value or €50,000, whichever is higher. bet365's ADM concession makes it legal to operate; it does not make it legal to advertise.
Can I bet with Bovada, BetOnline.ag, or Roobet from Italy?
Not legally, for three separate reasons. Bovada holds no ADM concession and its signup flow was built around a US player from the start — there's no Italy-facing registration path to begin with. BetOnline.ag also holds no concession and sits in the category Italy's DNS blocklist exists to catch, more than 12,000 domains deep as of an August 2026 order. Roobet runs entirely on cryptocurrency, a rail no ADM concession can use, and separately names Italy on its own restricted-territory terms.
Is Kalshi or Polymarket legal in Italy?
No. The ADM blocked both platforms in the same 293-domain sweep completed by July 27, 2026. Italian gambling law has no license category an event-contract exchange could apply under in the first place, so there was never a legal path open for either one — just a question of when enforcement caught up.
Why doesn't DraftKings or PrizePicks appear on this list?
Neither holds an ADM concession. DraftKings does not appear among the 46 operators Italy cleared into its 2025-2026 licensing reform and has never held an Italian concession of any kind. PrizePicks' own eligibility terms separately cap paid entries to US citizens and residents with a US address, which rules out Italy regardless of what Italian law allows.