ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Stefano Sbordoni, Sbordoni & Partners
From this moment on, licences for the collection of bets in physical locations were granted to private entities (agencies, betting shops, bookmakers). The first “betting agencies” or betting shops, electroni- cally connected to the AAMS/ADM system, were also established. Poker Land-based poker is legal in Italy only if: • it is organised according to public gaming regula- tions and under the supervision of the ADM and takes place in casinos with a valid ADM licence (ie, the casinos of Venice, Sanremo, Saint-Vincent, and Campione d’Italia); • it is a sports poker tournament (nominal entry fee, non-cash prizes); • it is played in clubs affiliated with sports federa- tions or non-profit cultural associations; and • it falls under the category of games of skill with no cash prizes. All other forms (cash games or unauthorised tourna- ments) are considered illegal gambling and, as such, prohibited under Articles 718 to 722 of the Italian Criminal Code and Article 110 of TULPS. Organising or participating in unauthorised gambling may result in: • a penalty of up to six months in prison or a fine of up to EUR516 (Article 718 of the Italian Criminal Code); • if the organisation is a stable or profit-making organisation, a penalty of up to three years in prison and confiscation of funds; or • possible administrative closures and licence revo- cation. Bingo The game of bingo was introduced in Italy by Law No 133/1999, providing for the establishment of bingo halls. Bingo is also regulated by Ministerial Decrees No 29/2000, No 12/09/2000 and No 21/11/2000, which defined the centralised control of the game and its assignment under concessions.
Bingo concessions are granted by the ADM to bingo halls that meet all the safety standards and player pri- vacy protection requirements. Bingo concessions last six years and can be renewed only once. Casinos In Italy, land-based casinos (Campione d’Italia, La Valleè, Sanremo, and Venice) operate under special derogations from the general ban on gambling set forth in Articles 718 to 723 of the Italian Criminal Code. These exceptions are authorised by special laws, such as Royal Decree No 3754/1936 for Sanremo and Roy- al Decree No 2448/1927 for Saint-Vincent). General gambling regulations also apply to casinos, specifically: • Articles 86, 88, 110, and 191 (Ministry of the Inte- rior’s jurisdiction over gambling establishments) of TULPS; • Legislative Decree No 231/2007 (AML legislation); • Law No 266/2005 and Law No 88/2009 (prohibition of gambling for minors under 18 years of age). Many operating rules (hours, internal regulations, lim- its, controls) are defined by the regions (Valle D’Aosta for Saint-Vincent) or municipalities (Sanremo and Ven- ice). Casinos do not pay the single withdrawal tax ( prelievo erariale unico , orPREU) on gaming revenue (see 12.1 Tax Rate by Sector ) as per “external” VLT/slot machine halls. However, they have a specific tax regime, comprising: • entertainment tax ( imposta sugli intrattenimenti , orISI), established by Presidential Decree No 640/1972); • tax agreements with the ADM and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF); and • municipal and regional taxes. Gaming Machines Amusement machines are regulated by Article 110 of TULPS (and subsequent amendments). Paragraph 3 of Article 110 states that “the installation of the machines referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7 is permit- ted exclusively in commercial or public establishments
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