Italy’s Supreme Court Confirms Tax Liability for Offshore CTDs

Italy’s Supreme Court has confirmed that offshore bookmakers using Italian CTDs still have to pay Italy’s betting tax, giving ADM another court victory against unlicensed betting activity. In ruling No. 13162 published on May 7, the court rejected an appeal from a Malta-based bookmaker and a CTD operator based in Calabria over a 2015 tax assessment.

The decision matters for operators still using CTD networks to reach Italian bettors without a local licence. The court made clear that tax liability depends on where bets are collected, not where the bookmaker is registered.

ADM accused a Calabria CTD of collecting bets in Italy for a Malta-based bookmaker without an Italian licence and sending the funds abroad outside Italy’s betting system. The court ruled that both the bookmaker and the CTD are liable for unpaid taxes and rejected challenges linked to EU law, untranslated documents, and ADM’s tax calculations.

The ruling referred to earlier decisions from Italy’s Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union, including Case C-788/18, which had already backed the compatibility of Italy’s betting tax system with EU law. Judges added that legal uncertainty around offshore bookmakers and CTDs had already been clarified through legislative changes introduced in 2010.

Beyond rejecting the appeal, the court ordered the operator and the CTD to pay a combined €15,000 in legal costs, penalties, and payments to Italy’s public fines fund. For offshore bookmakers still using CTD networks in Italy, the ruling adds another financial and legal risk tied to operating without a local licence.

For operators, the ruling cuts down another legal defence often used in disputes with ADM. It also increases pressure on local CTDs and service providers working with offshore brands that still target Italian players without concessions. The decision shows that Italian courts continue backing ADM’s position that local bet collection is enough to trigger tax obligations, even if the operator sits outside Italy.

TGJ Take

Operators still using CTD networks to reach Italian bettors without local licences just lost another legal argument against ADM. The court again backed the regulator’s view that collecting bets inside Italy is enough to create tax liability, even for bookmakers based abroad. That puts more pressure on both offshore operators and the Italian businesses working with them. It also makes future challenges against ADM tax assessments much tougher.