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The Italian Government is in the process of adopting, as part of the so called Budget law, a Law Decree containing a number of provisions that might lead to a revolution in the gaming sector.
In brief the most relevant provisions are:
- New VLT Licences: a call for tenders for the award of new videolottery licences will be launched by 30 September 2011 – this might be a great opportunity also for foreign operators that might have much more experience in a sector that is very new for Italian operators;
- Live Poker: a call for tenders for the award of 1,000 live poker licences will be launched by 30 November 2011 – AAMS will set out the rules of the game and a fixed tax of 3% of the turnover will be applicable;
- Bingo Variations: current bingo regulations are very restrictive for operators, but the decree will empower AAMS to issue new bingo regulations allowing more bingo variations and a fixed tax of 10% of the turnover will apply;
- Betting Shops: a call for tenders for the award of up to 16,000 betting shop licences will be launched by 30 October 2011;
- Illegal Players: banks and credit card companies shall notify to AAMS the details of Italian players transferring funds to websites that are run without a gaming licence – as a consequence of such notice players might face a criminal proceeding as Italian law prescribes penalties also for users playing on illegal websites.
Minor changes might be adopted before the publication of the Law Decree on the Official Gazette and as a consequence of its review by the Parliament, but this is certainly a massive change in the Italian (and maybe European) gaming market. Keep an eye (or even more than an eye) on the Italian market and contact me, Giulio Coraggio, if you want to know more about it!
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