The Administrative Court of Catania accepted the appeal of a businessman from Ragusa, represented by the lawyer Daniella Lamb, against the denial of the authorization referred to in the art. 88 of RD n. 773/1931 (TULPS) for the purpose of providing cross-border data transmission services relating to betting negotiation proposals on behalf of the company Stanleybet Malta Limited by the Police Headquarters.
For the judges of the TAR "restrictions such as those which are the subject of this proceeding cannot be applied to the owners of data transmission centers contractually linked to the Stanleybet operator, per se illegitimately hindered in accessing the Italian concession system.
In the present case, it must be highlighted that the only prerequisite for the denial provision is precisely the lack of the concession held by Stanleybet.
In light of the aforementioned jurisprudential practice, as well as the principles affirmed by the Council of State in the Plenary Session, according to which the judge must interpret a "rule of internal law in terms not conflicting with European Union law, as resulting from a ruling of the Court of Justice", the Board believes it is necessary to disapply the Italian legislation which provides for the need for concession by the bookmaker, for the purposes of the legitimate exercise of the bet collection activity.
It follows the invalidity of the contested denial provision, as it was adopted on the basis of a rule susceptible to disapplication.
Given the conformity of the national and community jurisprudential orientation on the subject, there are no reasons to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union, as in this case there are no interpretative doubts to be submitted to it for a preliminary ruling".
The plaintiff was denied damages.
