Sisal and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) are preparing to launch a new national lottery designed to create a permanent funding stream for Italy’s Olympic movement.
The new game, called Win for Italia Team, will go live on 28 September 2026 through Sisal’s nationwide retail network and authorised online channels. The initiative forms the centrepiece of a new partnership between Sisal and CONI aimed at financing athlete preparation, development programmes and other projects connected with Italia Team.
CONI says 26.5% of the money collected through the lottery will be allocated directly to the organisation. The arrangement is intended to give Italian Olympic sport a regular source of revenue that is less dependent on annual public funding decisions.
Daily draws and 65% prize allocation
Win for Italia Team will operate as a national totalisator lottery. Players will select six numbers from a pool of 40, with one draw taking place each day and prizes available for matching two, three, four, five or all six numbers.
The minimum stake will be €2. The prize fund will account for 65% of total lottery turnover, while the top prize is expected to start in the millions and increase when the winning six-number combination is not claimed. Sisal will distribute the product through more than 35,000 retail locations as well as online channels.
The 65% prize allocation was established through Italy’s 2026 Budget legislation, which authorised the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) to introduce and regulate Win for Italia Team specifically to support the Olympic projects of the national team.
The project has taken several years to develop. CONI Secretary General Carlo Mornati said the process lasted around seven years and involved discussions between the Olympic committee, Sisal, ADM and government institutions.
CONI has also stressed that Win for Italia Team is a lottery rather than a sports-betting product. Beyond generating funding, the organisation intends to use the initiative to increase public awareness of Italian athletes and Olympic disciplines, including competitors who receive comparatively limited mainstream media coverage.
Sisal renews historic link with Italian sport
The partnership also reconnects Sisal with its historical role in financing Italian sport.
Sisal launched its first football pools competition in 1946, when part of the proceeds helped support the reconstruction of sporting infrastructure damaged during the Second World War. That product later developed into Totocalcio, which came under CONI’s management in 1948.
CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio has positioned the new lottery as a modern revival of that funding model, following more than two decades without a comparable direct mechanism linking a national game with financing for the Olympic movement.
Sisal CEO and Flutter Southern Europe & Africa chief Roberto Di Fonzo said the company’s retail network, technology and lottery experience would be used to provide continuing financial support for Italian Olympic sport. Sisal is owned by Flutter Entertainment.
The scheme follows a particularly successful period for Italian athletes across recent Olympic Games, world championships, European competitions and other international events. CONI argues that maintaining Italy’s position among the leading sporting nations requires stable long-term investment in athletes and development structures.
Betting levy debate continues alongside lottery launch
The new lottery arrives while Italy is separately considering further changes to the way professional sport is funded.
A proposal before the Italian Senate would require licensed operators to contribute 2% of stakes placed on football events organised by the FIGC or affiliated leagues from 1 January 2027. The plan envisages directing the money towards Italian football, with funding covering areas including youth development and measures addressing gambling-related harm.
The proposal forms part of a wider debate over the financial future of Italian football and the restrictions on gambling advertising and sponsorship introduced under the 2018 Dignity Decree.
Unlike those still-developing reforms, Win for Italia Team has already received legislative approval and now has a confirmed launch date, giving CONI a new dedicated revenue mechanism as Italy begins another Olympic cycle.