San Remo casino. Semeria (Snalc): "Chemin de fer should not be suppressed but organized in different ways"
Venice: the municipality aims to obtain 350 million from the privatization of the casino
(Jamma) The discussion on arcades turned into a political skirmish in the last meeting of the Arzignano city council, in the province of Vicenza. The specific item on the agenda included some amendments and additions to the municipal regulation to implement the new directives, resulting from a sentence of the Veneto Regional Administrative Court, which agrees with the private operators against the Municipality of Vicenza on the point concerning the mandatory distances, equal to 500 meters, which must exist between the amusement arcades and some structures of social importance such as churches, schools, hospitals. In essence, according to the judge, this limit must possibly be decided at national level and cannot be the prerogative of the municipalities.
Even the Municipality of Arzignano, therefore, drafter of a similar legislation, had to comply with the sentence, eliminating this constraint. A problem, however, arose at the time of the vote that would have had to ratify changes that risked appearing unpopular in the eyes of the citizens. The announcement, then, of the contrary vote by the minority councilor Michele Colasanto to the transposition of the sentence of the Tar, inflamed the debate. At this point, a question and answer was triggered with the sound of suspensions of the session, three during the evening, requested by the two sides. According to the opposition, the majority has twice returned from breaks with fewer directors, a circumstance that would have made the minority votes decisive on the thorny issue.
«In the end we left – explains another exponent of the opposition, Antonio De Sanctis -. He seemed to be playing hide and seek.' Eventually, the changes were approved. «As a politician, I do not want to face appeals from those who want to open these businesses, openings permitted by law – says the mayor Giorgio Gentilin -. I do not intend to squander public money. In any case, the State must invest in the fight against gambling addiction with measures that must start right from the school benches ». Currently, there are 5 opening requests presented in the city.
The group leaders of the PDL and the Lega, Andrea Pellizzari and Guglielmo Dal Ceredo, also voted against the changes to the regulation. «Slot machines should be banned – comments Pellizzari. Unfortunately, however, the state draws large sums of money from this activity and in fact, today, gambling has even been legalized on the internet and on mobile phones. Faced with this phenomenon, the Municipality has its hands completely tied. "Obviously - concludes the PDL group leader - if the Council of State disavows the Tar, we are committed to returning to the council to restore the norm".
