In the province of Rimini, €835 million was wagered on gambling—both physical and online—in 2025, with overall losses exceeding €126 million. The volume of bets has grown by 26% in just four years.
The figures were released by the Municipality of Rimini during the presentation of “Liberiamo il Gioco, liberi dall’Azzardo” (“Let’s Free Play, Free from Gambling”), an awareness week promoted by the Rimini GAP Network as part of the Local Plan against Pathological Gambling. The initiative runs from 19 to 25 October and includes public meetings, school activities, training for teachers and educators, workshops and theatrical performances.
«In the province of Rimini alone, the total amount wagered on physical and online gambling has risen by 26% in just four years», notes Kristian Gianfreda, president of the Rimini Socio-Health District and municipal councillor for Health Policies. «This means that every adult resident spends on average more than €2,900 a year on gambling, diverting vital resources from the real economy, from families and from the future of our young people, including minors». This figure measures the economic scale of the phenomenon, not the average individual loss nor the number of people affected by pathological addiction.
«Problem gambling is unfortunately still a hidden, silent phenomenon, but one that, as the statistics confirm, shows no sign of slowing down, and which, when it becomes pathological, plunges entire families into despair», Gianfreda warns.
The project “Quando il gioco non è un gioco” (“When play is no longer a game”) aims to strengthen prevention, information and intervention, with particular attention to minors and their relationship with the digital world. Alongside traditional forms of gambling, the educational programme also addresses the engagement mechanisms linked to video games, distinguishing play as a recreational activity from situations that may foster problematic behaviour.
The schedule opens on Monday 19 October at 8:30 pm at the Cinema Teatro Tiberio with the seminar “Azzardo, Minori e Territorio: l’Impatto Sociale” (“Gambling, Minors and the Community: the Social Impact”), moderated by Don Armando Zappolini.
