A European court has issued a preliminary ruling which states that Italy is not allowed to legally block certain gambling sites.

While Italy legalized online poker cash games in 2025, it decided to blacklist certain some firms, even though they are completely legal in Malta. Critics believe this to be a way to protect the country’s monopoly. 

Malta Today reported that: “The CJEU ruled that EU Member States restricting national gambling markets in order to favour the economic interest of incumbents over operators licensed in other Member States is against EU law. National legislation which precludes all cross-border activity in the betting and gaming sector, irrespective of the form in which that activity is undertaken, is contrary to EU law.

“Articles 43 EC and 49 EC must be interpreted as meaning that, under the current state of EU law, the fact that an operator holds, in the Member State in which it is established, an authorisation permitting it to offer betting and gaming does not prevent another Member State, while complying with the requirements of EU law, from making such a provider offering such services to consumers in its territory subject to the holding of an authorization issued by its own authorities.”