ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Stefano Sbordoni, Sbordoni & Partners
3.6 Penalties for Unlawful Gambling The main penalties in cases of unlawful gambling are: • operation of gambling and/or betting activi- ties without a concession – imprisonment from six months to three years plus a fine of between EUR50,000 and EUR500,000 (Article 4 of Law 401/1989); • operation with an expired concession – treated as “operation without concession” (Article 4 of Law 401/1989); • AWP machines and/or VLTs not connected and/ or not authorised – fine of up to EUR10,000 per machine plus seizure of the device (Article 110 of TULPS); • collection of bets on behalf of a foreign bookmaker – same criminal penalties as operating gambling without a concession (Article 4, paragraph 4 of Law 401/1989); • access by minors (ie, those under 18 years of age) to gaming/betting premises – administrative fine from EUR5,000 to EUR20,000 and closure of the gaming point for between ten and 30 days; • non-compliant advertising of gambling/betting services – administrative sanction according to the parameters set out in the Dignity Decree; • AML violations by gaming/betting operators – administrative sanctions and possible contractual penalties for concessionaires (Legislative Decree No 231/2007); and • regional/local breaches (eg, opening hours, dis- tance requirements for machines) – administrative sanction in the amount established by regional laws and/or municipal regulations, as well as possi- ble suspension of the activity.
The ADM has the following regulatory powers: • issues licences for betting shops, bingo, slot machines/VLTs, and online games; • authorises and monitors gaming concessionaires; • manages tender procedures for new licences; • conducts technical checks on gaming systems, payouts, software, and IT networks; • issues circulars, technical regulations, and opera- tional guidelines; • combats illegal gambling, including by blocking unauthorised sites; and • oversees tax collection and taxation. 4.2 Regulatory Approach In Italy, the entire public gaming system is based on: • state monopoly; • public concessions; • central regulation entrusted to the State through the ADM; and • strong technical, fiscal, and public order controls. Gambling, in essence, is an activity reserved to the State, which can grant permission for it to private indi- viduals through public concessions. 4.3 Types of Licences The public gaming concessions are divided into: • mono-concessions – ie, Lotto, Superenalotto and lotteries; and • multi-concessions – ie, horse race betting and sports betting, sports prediction competitions, bingo, devices (slots, VLTs), and online games. Pursuant to TULPS, there are two types of licences, as follows. • The licence pursuant to Article 86 of TULPS – issued by the police headquarters or the munici- pality – is the document that physically authorises a business (bar, tobacconist, etc) to host/install non-cash gaming machines (billiards, pinball machines, and video games (Article 110, paragraph 7 of TULPS)), new slot/AWP machines (Article 110, paragraph 6a of TULPS), VLTs (Article 110, para-
4. Licensing and Regulatory Framework 4.1 Regulatory Authority
The regulatory authority was the AAMS. established in 1927, which had already acquired the national lot- teries (in 1988) and the Lotto game and the instant lotteries (in 1994). The AAMS has been subsequently incorporated by Law No 135/2012 into the ADM, a public body with legal personality and wide financial, organisational and accounting autonomy.
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