ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Stefano Sbordoni, Sbordoni & Partners
3.4 Definition of Online Gambling According to Italian legislation and EU Directive 98/34, online gaming is “a service involving a monetary stake in games dependent on luck, including lotteries and betting, provided remotely, by electronic means at the request of the individual recipient of the services”. The main types of online legal gambling in Italy are classified by Legislative Decree No 41/2024 and listed in 2.1 Online Gambling . 3.5 Key Offences In the Italian context, the key offences in the public gaming sector are all serious crimes or violations that affect the regularity, transparency, security and legality of gaming operations. They may also lead to exclusion or revocation of the concession, in addition to criminal and administrative liability. The main legislative sources are: • Articles 86, 88, and 110 of TULPS; • Law No 401/1989 – criminal offences related to gaming and betting; • Legislative Decree 231/2001 – corporate adminis- trative liability; • Legislative Decree 231/2007 – AML; • the Balduzzi Decree – advertising and protection of minors; • the Dignity Decree – ban on advertising of games with cash winnings; and • ADM regulations and circulars – conduct punish- able by suspension/revocation of the concession. The main key offences and the corresponding sanc- tions are: • unauthorised gaming/illegal operation of gaming or betting without concession and/or licence (Arti- cle 4 of Law 401/1989 and Article 110 of TULPS) – imprisonment for up to three years and a fine, revocation of the ADM concession, and administra- tive sanctions; • computer fraud and system tampering/manipula- tion of devices, software or ADM telematic net- works (Article 640-ter Criminal Code and Article 110 of TULPS) – imprisonment from six months to
three years, as well as suspension or revocation of the licence; • money laundering/self-laundering/use of gaming to transfer or clean illicit funds (Legislative Decree 231/2007 and Articles 648-bis and 648-ter of the Italian Criminal Code) – imprisonment from four to 12 years, as well as Financial Intelligence Unit ( Unità di Informazione Finanziaria , or UIF) reporting obligation; • aggravated fraud against the State/fraud in the col- lection or payment of winnings (Article 640-bis of the Italian Criminal Code) – imprisonment from one to six years, as well as revocation of the conces- sion and disqualification from obtaining public concessions; • Corruption and extortion/unlawful relations with public officials to obtain concessions (Articles 318 to 322 of the Italian Criminal Code) – imprisonment for up to ten years, as well as corporate liability under Legislative Decree 231/2001; • criminal association for illegal gaming/Organisation of illegal networks outside the ADM system (Article 416 of the Italian Criminal Code) – imprisonment from three to seven years, as well as confiscation and permanent disqualification; • usury/extortion related to gaming/illegal financing or coercive control of gaming activities (Articles 629 to 644 of the Italian Criminal Code) – imprison- ment from three to ten years, as well as permanent disqualification; • failure to verify identity/access by minors/failure to identify customers or allowing under-18 access (the Balduzzi Decree and Article 24 of Decree Law 98/2011) – fines from EUR5,000 to EUR20,000 and suspension of the activity; • violation of AML obligations/failure to report, struc- turing or lack of transaction traceability (Legislative Decree 231/2007) – administrative sanctions up to EUR5 million, as well as suspension of the licence; and • misleading advertising/non-compliant promotion/ unlawful advertising of games (the Dignity Decree and Article 7 of the Balduzzi Decree, as well as the Italian Consumer Code and related regulations) – Italian Communications Authority ( Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni , or “AGCOM”) sanc- tions and suspension of the concession.
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