Introduction to Italy’s Two Greatest Passions: Cuisine and Sport
Surely, you have attended a dinner with friends before following a sporting event. It’s not just about tradition; Italians love cooking and they also love sport, it’s a fact. Today, football and other sports are followed mainly online thanks to reels and clips, but cooking has also found its online dimension with food delivery and online shopping. So, all you need is a smartphone to watch a game or order a pizza, or do both.
The Growth of Online Gaming and Sports Betting in Italy
We cannot talk about sport without talking about sports betting, it is a phenomenon that involves the whole of Italy from North to South. According to recent data, the betting sector is growing rapidly, especially the online one, with a +14.59% increase and over 18.7 million active gaming accounts. It is now completely normal to watch a football or tennis match on TV and, in the meantime, keep an eye on the odds and predictions directly from your smartphone.
Overall, fixed-odds bets generated revenue of 25.6 billion, a clear increase compared to previous years. This means that people participate and love to follow the matches and odds directly online. When we talk about sports economics, we must also talk about sports betting because they are a huge pillar of this sector.
Italy’s Passion for Sports and Cuisine: A Look at the Numbers
If you look at the total volumes, sport has become a stable practice. Almost one in three people train continuously, this means that the culture of movement has entered the routine. It is a thirty-year trend, with a share of practitioners rising up to 37.5% in 2024. These are not random findings, they are Istat data which confirm that Italy is increasingly active.
However, it must be said that catering also remains a social place and a great economic driver. In 2024, out-of-home consumption reached 96.4 billion euros, equal to 33% of total food expenditure. It is a value that has recovered ground and is accompanied by a large labor market, with more than 1.5 million employed.
Italian Cuisine: A Tradition that Travels the World
Italian cuisine remains a very powerful calling card. Made in Italy is sought after all over the world and is synonymous with quality and excellence. After the UNESCO recognition, agri-food exports of close to 73 billion euros are expected.
All this confirms how recipes, ingredients and DOP and IGP products have become a universal language, capable of bringing together catering, retail and tourism. The cultural drive can also be seen in the markets: more value at the origin and more attention to quality along the entire supply chain.
What Italians are Looking for in Recipes, Training, and New Habits
The two passions speak to each other naturally. Those who cook at home alternate the neighborhood restaurant with delivery, and those who practice sports often integrate short workouts, challenges with friends and online content. Some simple signals emerge from the data:
- A more mobile life drives consumption away from home and digital orders, with Food & Grocery confirming itself as one of the most vibrant e-commerce sectors in 2025.
- Sport is increasingly continuous, thanks to the many offers and accessible formats. There are still many people employed in catering, confirming the social role of the premises.
Conclusion: Two Passions that Tell the Story of Today’s Italy
Cooking and sport are two different ways of being together. They tell the story of a country that does not give up conviviality, that uses digital to simplify and that exports its identity to the world. On the one hand, there are solid numbers on sports practice and consumption outside the home, on the other, there is a growing food supply chain and an increasingly connected sports ecosystem, where even sports betting becomes an indicator of digital participation.
In 2026, these trends are now mature. The value lies in the balance between pleasure, community, and innovation, with the taste of an al dente pasta and the energy of a match watched with friends. For more information, visit Here to learn more about Italy’s passion for cuisine and sport.