The worst case scenario unfortunately occurred. There The Tuscan Regional Authority indeed the use of 'ticket redemption' is prohibited for minors. The Regional Council approved the new law, wanted by a group of councilors of the Democratic Party, with a unanimous vote.
"A few months ago we denounced the risks that were being faced with what could happen in the Tuscany region and unfortunately we have to witness yet another victory of ignorance and superficiality - he has declared Domenico Distant, president of SAPAR –. How can one only think that a ticket, which will lead to winning a toy car, a soft toy, a pillow from one's favorite team, can create a gratification that could lead to gambling. This is pure incompetence, ignorance from a political, technical, social, economic point of view. Is it possible that some of the signatories of this regulatory horror have never entered one of these rooms with their child? Is it possible that we have never shot, in an amusement park or a country fair, with toy rifles and pistols at cans to win a prize? No one has ever cried foul about this and about games that have always been an integral part of our children's entertainment. Yet Tuscany sees dangers where healthy entertainment reigns. Because instead of giving substance to preconceptions based on nothing, science is not taken into account? It is enough to recall the research, unique in the world of its kind, on the possible problems linked to ticket redemptions, carried out by the Roma Tre University. This research - underlines Distante -, carried out again by one of the most qualified universities, has shown that there are no scientific foundations linking these machines to gambling and gambling addiction. Perhaps those who propose these combinations do it to seek consensus. And here they are wrong a second time. Do they really think that this will bring them the consent of the families who accompany their children to play in the halls that host the ticket redemptions and they don't really consider the problem of gambling because they know that it is a place of pure entertainment? With prizes that reach a maximum value of 20 euros, how can they only think of the danger of gambling addiction. It should be noted that in the report to the draft law of Tuscany there is talk of "potential future developments of the pathology", ie they admit that there is no current risk of gambling addiction. In addition to the fact that obviously on the basis of national legislation the Redemptions are accessible to minors as paragraph 7 devices in all respects. These are political and technical errors made by the councilors of the Tuscany region. But there are also economic and social problems. This law could make activities where fun and socialization take place in the safest and most controlled way disappear and could move many young people towards different forms of leisure with the risk of running into games that are dangerous to health and managed by unscrupulous organizations. In short, they are taking away the desire to give a smile to many young people. To make him spend time with friends in a fun and healthy way. For these people, even playing is a crime and they are dragging us into a world lacking in stimuli and serenity. But we will continue to denounce this nonsense – concludes the president of Sapar -, because making a child stop playing and receiving a prize is a very serious act, because no one should ever take away a moment of healthy happiness from them".
