ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Maurizio Marullo, Giorgio Vagnoni, Francesco Amoresano and Fausto Consolo, LAWP Studio legale e tributario
1.3 Betting Gambling Under Italian Laws and Betting- Related Offences Gambling is legal only if operated by entities with the relevant licence issued by the Excis - es, Customs and Monopolies Agency ( Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli , or ADM). Outside this regulated area, gambling is a crime and the Criminal Code sanctions both organisers of and participants in gambling (including sentences and fines imposed under Articles 718 and 720 of the Criminal Code). Under sports law, specific betting-related offences are designed to combat illegal betting and match fixing. The FIGC Justice Code spe - cifically forbids betting activities for individuals connected to the FIGC, managers, stakeholders and members of professional and non-profes - sional clubs. In particular, members of profes - sional clubs can never bet on official FIGC, UEFA or FIFA matches. Members of non-professional and youth clubs can bet through authorised betting agencies only in relation to official FIGC, UEFA and FIFA competitions not involving their own club. Sanctions include sports bans, mon - etary fines, points deductions, relegation, exclu - sion from competition and/or revocation of titles. Sanctions are also established for failing to report any potential betting-related offence to the FIGC Prosecutor. The same conduct is relevant under criminal law to the extent it constitutes fraud in sports competition (see 1.2 Integrity ). A 2011 case involving match fixing and gambling in top-flight Italian football clubs is a striking example of the intersections between criminal and sports justice. Charges were pressed by a football club against its former goalkeeper, who was accused of adding a sedative to his team - mates’ water to sabotage their performance dur - ing a match in 2010. As the investigation into
azione Italiana Giuoco Calcio , or FIGC) Justice Code sanctions clubs, athletes and any other relevant subjects of the FIGC for any conduct aimed at: • manipulating the course or the result of a match; or • ensuring an unfair advantage in competition. Sanctions may include points deductions, rel - egation, exclusion from the tournament and/or revocation of any sports title. Individuals found guilty of sports fraud face a minimum four-year ban and substantial monetary fines. Sanctions can be increased in case of multiple offences, or if the manipulation of a result or a tournament advantage is obtained. The “Calciopoli case” in 2006 centred around these offences. In this case, presidents and managers of several prestigious Italian football clubs, FIGC officials, executives of the Italian Referee Association and referees were inves - tigated by the criminal Public Prosecutor for criminal association and fraud in sports com - petitions. Concurrently, the FIGC Prosecutor initiated investigations for violation of the FIGC Justice Code. This investigation resulted in very substantial sanctions being imposed on clubs, public officials and the most eminent people working in the football industry at that time. The repercussions included the revocation of sports titles, relegation, points deduction and bans from public services and managerial roles. The liability of the defendants was also acknowledged as a crime in ordinary criminal courts; however, most defendants ultimately benefitted from the statute of limitations applicable to their offences.
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