Royal Legislative Decree no. 2258 of 8 December 1927 created the Special State Monopolies Administration for the performance of "monopoly services involving the production, import and sale of salt and tobacco, as well as the production and sale of State-sponsored quinine".
This institution was to have a far-reaching effect on Italy's social and economic fabric, contributing to the creation of new production facilities (salt works, tobacco factories) that changed the urban make-up of a number of zones in Italy through increased industrialisation.
The efficiency and the ongoing operations of the Monopolies Administration favoured the creation, throughout the twentieth century, of thousands of jobs.
In the 1980's and 90's, the groundwork was laid for changes that were to lead to a radical transformation in the activities of the AAMS.
Under a strategy meant to rationalise the different sectors, the AAMS took over the management of national lotteries in 1988 and of the Lotto and instant lottery games in 1994, followed by Bingo in 2000.
During the years 2001 and 2002, the AAMS was gradually assigned responsibility for the other games that make up its current portfolio.
During the same period, in 1999, the national legislature assigned the production and marketing of salt and tobacco to the ETI (Italian Tobacco Authority, subsequently acquired, in 2004, by the British American Tobacco Company (BAT).

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