The first restrictions imposed by the legislator for land-based sales points are coming, resulting from the reorganization of online gaming: all the news and a legal focus on the situation, by lawyer Stefano Sbordoni.
Tomorrow, May 13, 2026, one of the most significant changes provided by the online gaming reform officially comes into force: the weekly limit of 100 euros for cash top-ups made at Recharge Points of Sale (PVRs). After weeks of waiting, rumors, and hypotheses of postponement, the sector is therefore preparing for the operational start of the measure without further delays.
For operators, concessionaires, and managers of the physical network, this is now an inevitable step. Despite rumors circulating until the last few days regarding a possible postponement of the deadline or the arrival of an interpretative circular from the Customs and Monopolies Agency (AdM), the May 13 deadline remains confirmed. Some technical adjustments to the concessionaires’ systems have actually been postponed to November 2026, but the limit on cash top-ups will regularly come into force from tomorrow.
The measure, provided for by Legislative Decree No. 41 of 2024 (the so-called online gaming reorganization), requires that each user cannot make cash top-ups exceeding 100 euros in total within the same week through PVRs. The control will be automated through the Pacg protocol prepared by AdM: each transaction will be recorded and associated with the gaming account or the customer’s tax code, allowing the system to automatically block any further top-ups once the threshold is reached.
This is a change destined to have a concrete impact on the entire network of Recharge Points of Sale, which over the years has represented one of the main connection tools between online gaming and the territory. PVRs have in fact allowed concessionaires to maintain a widespread presence, especially with customers still strongly tied to the use of cash and direct contact with the physical point.
The objective of the reform is to strengthen the traceability of transactions and anti-money laundering controls, progressively reducing the use of untraceable payments in the remote gaming sector. For this very reason, the legislator has introduced a centralized top-up monitoring system, considered one of the key tools of the new regulatory framework.
However, the concerns expressed by industry operators remain strong. Many believe that the limit set at 100 euros is excessively restrictive and could penalize the retail network in particular, with the risk of pushing part of the clientele toward unauthorized circuits or outside the perimeter of legal gaming.
One of the aspects most clarified in recent weeks concerns the scope of application of the measure: the limit does not apply to normal bets placed at land-based betting agencies, but exclusively to top-ups of online gaming accounts through PVRs. Retail bets at authorized physical agencies will therefore continue to follow the ordinary rules already provided by the current system.
With the start of the new regime, specific on-site inspections are also expected to verify the correct adaptation of sales points, the transmission of data through Pacg, and compliance with the new operational procedures.
From tomorrow, therefore, the system will enter full operation. And May 13, 2026, already risks becoming a date destined to mark a before and after in the relationship between online gaming, the physical network, and the use of cash.
