Fanatics Italy: A Real Company, Just Not a Betting One

Fanatics is not legal in Italy — there is no ADM-licensed Fanatics sportsbook or casino for an Italian resident to join in 2026. But "Fanatics Italy" is not a hollow search result the way it is in some other European markets: it is the actual trading name of EPI, a Milan-based merchandiser Fanatics bought outright in April 2023, with roughly 150 staff and contracts to run the online and in-stadium stores of Italy's biggest football clubs. This page separates that real retail business from the sportsbook brand that has never applied for an Italian license.

Legal status in Italy

Italy licenses online gambling through the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), which rebuilt its entire concession system under Legislative Decree 41/2024. A 2025 tender drew 52 applications from 46 companies; ADM pushed the deadline to November 12, 2025 and issued new nine-year concessions priced at roughly €7 million each, plus an annual fee of about 3% of post-tax gross gaming revenue — up sharply from the €200,000-per-permit system it replaced, and now capping each licensee to one app and one website per product. Market coverage of the tender names SNAI, Flutter Entertainment, Lottomatica, Entain, and SKS365 as the incumbent conglomerates it was built around. Fanatics Betting and Gaming does not appear in that coverage and holds no ADM concession, in any vertical. FBG's first and so far only move outside the US surfaced in June 2026: a joint venture with Momentum Group that folds Momentum's UAE gaming licenses — covering lottery, iGaming, and sportsbook through its Play971 platform — into a jointly run operation, with Fanatics supplying the betting and casino technology behind it. Company coverage of that deal explicitly calls it Fanatics' first gaming business outside the US, which rules out any quiet Italian footprint existing alongside it. What Italy does have is Fanatics Commerce's retail arm, and it is a bigger and more direct presence than the licensing deals this site has found in France or Spain. In April 2023, Fanatics acquired EPI, a Milan-headquartered sports-merchandise company previously owned by Quadrivio Group's Industry 4.0 Fund, and renamed it Fanatics Italy. The deal brought over roughly 150 employees under Fanatics Italy CEO Lorenzo Forte and handed Fanatics the official online stores of the Italian national football team (FIGC) and seven Serie A clubs, plus in-stadium retail for AC Milan, Inter Milan, Fiorentina, and Bologna. Bologna renewed and expanded that partnership afterward, and Fanatics has continued adding Serie A club relationships since. None of it is gambling, and none of it reports to the ADM.

State gambling authority: Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), under Legislative Decree 41/2024's rebuilt concession system. Fanatics Betting and Gaming holds no concession here. The company's only international gaming venture is a June 2026 joint venture with Momentum Group in the UAE, not Italy. Fanatics Italy — the retail business built from the 2023 EPI acquisition — is regulated as ordinary commerce, not gambling.

Fanatics is not legal in Italy as a sportsbook or casino — there's no ADM license and no real-money account to open. But type “Fanatics Italy” into a search bar and you land on something other brands in this situation don't have: an actual Milan-based company trading under that name, built from a 2023 acquisition and still running club merchandise deals in 2026.

Fanatics Italy Used to Be Called EPI

In April 2023, Fanatics bought EPI, a Milan sports-merchandise business previously owned by Quadrivio Group's Industry 4.0 Fund, and renamed it Fanatics Italy. Roughly 150 employees stayed on, Lorenzo Forte kept his job as CEO, and the deal folded in EPI's contracts to run the official online stores of Italy's national football federation (FIGC) and seven Serie A clubs — plus in-stadium retail specifically for AC Milan, Inter Milan, Fiorentina, and Bologna. Bologna has since renewed and expanded that arrangement, and Fanatics has kept adding Serie A relationships in the years since.

Is Fanatics Legal in Italy? Not as a Betting Product

Italy licenses online gambling through the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), which rebuilt its entire concession system under Legislative Decree 41/2024. A 2025 tender pulled in 52 applications from 46 companies, and new nine-year concessions now cost roughly €7 million apiece plus an annual cut of gross gaming revenue — a steep jump from the old €200,000 permits. Coverage of that process cites SNAI, Flutter, Lottomatica, Entain, and SKS365 as the market's established players. Fanatics Betting and Gaming is not on that list, and holds no Italian concession in any product category.

Fanatics' only gaming venture outside the US is in the UAE, not Italy: a June 2026 joint venture with Momentum Group folds Momentum's UAE lottery, iGaming, and sportsbook licenses into a jointly run business, with Fanatics supplying the betting technology. Company coverage calls it explicitly “Fanatics' first gaming business outside the US” — which leaves no room for a quiet Italian sportsbook to already exist alongside it.

Is Fanatics Legit in Italy? As a Retailer, Yes

EPI wasn't a shell before Fanatics bought it — Quadrivio reported the company grew sales roughly 125% to €45 million in the two years leading up to the sale. Fanatics kept the staff, kept the Italian leadership, and kept growing the club roster afterward rather than folding the business into something unrecognizable. Judged as a merchandiser, that's a legitimate, functioning Italian business. Judged as a sportsbook, there's simply no product in Italy to evaluate.

Who It Fits

A Juventus or Milan fan buying a kit from an official club store is dealing with a real, Fanatics-owned company — that part checks out. An Italian reader looking for a Fanatics sportsbook account gets a clean no, same as every other EU market this brand hasn't licensed. US readers in a state where Fanatics Sportsbook is actually live should use this site's state pages instead. Betting, wherever it's legal, is entertainment spending, not income. 18+, and a problem shouldn't go unaddressed — Italy's helpline resources are listed through ADM's own responsible-gambling pages.

Fanatics Sportsbook Italy — Frequently Asked Questions

Is Fanatics legal in Italy?

No, not as a sportsbook or casino. Fanatics Betting and Gaming holds no ADM concession under Italy's rebuilt 2025 licensing system, and there is no betting product to join from an Italian IP address. "Fanatics Italy" is a real, separate business — a merchandise retailer — and it is not a gambling license.

So what is "Fanatics Italy," exactly?

It's the rebranded name of EPI, a Milan-based sports-merchandise company Fanatics bought outright in April 2023 from Quadrivio Group's Industry 4.0 Fund. Roughly 150 employees came over, Lorenzo Forte stayed on as CEO, and the business runs official online and in-stadium stores for Italy's national football federation and several Serie A clubs. It is a wholly owned Fanatics subsidiary, not a licensing deal like the ones this site found in France.

Which Italian clubs actually work with Fanatics?

Reporting on the 2023 EPI deal names the Italian national team (FIGC) and seven Serie A clubs for online stores, with in-stadium retail specifically for AC Milan, Inter Milan, Fiorentina, and Bologna. Bologna has since renewed and expanded its arrangement, and trade press describes Fanatics continuing to add Serie A relationships afterward.

Is Fanatics legit in Italy?

As a merchandiser, yes — EPI was an established Italian company before the purchase, growing sales roughly 125% to €45 million in the two years before the deal, and Fanatics kept its staff and local leadership rather than gutting it. As a sportsbook, there is nothing to judge: Fanatics Betting and Gaming has never held, or applied for, an ADM concession.

Could Fanatics Betting and Gaming launch in Italy next?

Nothing in the public record points that way. FBG's first move into gaming outside the US came in June 2026, and it targeted the UAE through a joint venture with Momentum Group, not Europe. Owning a 150-person Italian retail company since 2023 hasn't led to an Italian betting license application in the years since, which argues against an imminent one now.

Is it safe to use a site claiming to be a Fanatics sportsbook in Italy?

Treat it as unlicensed. FBG geofences its real sportsbook and casino to its licensed US states, and Italy isn't one of them. A site marketing betting under the Fanatics name to an Italian visitor isn't running on ADM-regulated infrastructure — the only genuine Fanatics operation in the country is the EPI-built merchandise business, which doesn't take wagers.

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