(Jamma) On September 9th, the law of popular initiative to curb gambling promoted by Legautonomie will be presented to the Municipality of Milan. The bill that Legautonomie Lombardia worked on has now reached its final version and provides for a double track: a framework law and one on casinos. It is a popular initiative law proposal which therefore bases its strength and authority also on the widest possible involvement of subjects, citizens who want to do something to counter a phenomenon which, thanks to the crisis, has overcome time the alert levels.
«We have collected – says Angela Fioroni, secretary of Legautonomie – the opinions of the large group of people (about six hundred including mayors, councilors, councilors, associations, journalists, active citizens, ed) involved in this problem, so that even the proposed law actually arises from those who experience gambling problems in their territories". "The draft law therefore - he continues - is the result of a participatory process that interests us a lot, since the law itself will have the purpose of involving, raising awareness, promoting the active participation of citizens".
Actually, in fact, these are two laws. The first is a framework law and is the one for which the collection of signatures will start. The second concerns more specifically casinos, should follow a normal process and is also in an advanced stage of development.
The central idea is that gambling on electronic devices is authorized only in licensed gaming halls, the number of which would be determined by region and on the basis of the number of inhabitants. It is therefore expected that within two years (transitional period) the devices currently present in bars and restaurants would be brought back to the authorized gaming rooms. Furthermore, access to the devices would be provided only by means of an electronic card (to combat underage gambling).
On the other hand, any form of advertising that favors access to gambling would be prohibited. It is also planned to donate 1% of the sums intended for the remuneration of gaming operators and concessionaires to set up a fund for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of Gap patients and for psychological assistance for family members. The 1% of uncollected premiums would then be allocated to research and monitoring of the Gap.
The bill identifies the mayor as the competent authority, subject to the opinion of the police headquarters, to issue the authorization for the opening of gaming halls. With minimum distances to be respected from sensitive places (for example schools) and responsibilities to be redefined, in a technical and non-decisional sense, for the Customs and Monopolies Agency. Finally, tools are provided for contrasting illegal gaming and mafia infiltration, methods for the traceability of financial flows and actions against tax and tax evasion. And the registers of bets and betting competitions are set up.
There are a total of 21 articles envisaged in the framework law proposal.
POPULAR INITIATIVE LAW PROPOSAL
Provisions for the protection of individuals' right to health, as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution as a fundamental right of the individual and in the interest of the community, through provisions on gambling aimed at:
– cure people suffering from Pathological Gambling
– integrate financial measures for the treatment and prevention of pathological gambling and identify sources of funding;
– promote training and research activities related to the GAP
– implement the ban on underage gambling and introduce rules on advertising
– strengthen the measures for the protection of vulnerable subjects
– identify in gaming halls the places dedicated to legal gambling after the expiry of the concessions in progress
– define a moratorium on the introduction of new games with cash prizes
– redefine gambling licensing authorities
– envisage measures to combat the laundering of proceeds from illegal activities, illegal gaming and mafia infiltration
– ensure the traceability of financial flows
– strengthen the disciplinary discipline
Art 1
Purpose
The purpose of this law is to protect the health of individuals as enshrined in the article of the Constitution "The Republic protects health as a fundamental right of the individual and in the interest of the community".
The State promotes every useful initiative and adopts precise behaviors aimed at the best possible protection of health in terms of generality and globality, since maintaining a state of complete psycho-physical and social well-being constitutes the fundamental right for people and the paramount interest for the community, given the role that the person is called to fulfill for the development and growth of civil society.
The State protects the health of the most fragile citizens also through a new regulation of gambling, since a certain and increasingly worrying correlation is established at the health level between the spread of gambling and the pathologies connected to it, in particular the gambling syndrome with cash winnings, or GAP, Pathological Gambling, as defined by the World Health Organization ("clearly identified morbid form, which in the absence of suitable information and prevention measures, can represent, due to its diffusion, an authentic social disease”) and from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV and DSM V, May 2013). [PROBLEMATIC GAMBLING AND PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING. Synthetic technical-scientific notes and "evidence base oriented" recommendations, deriving from the review of scientific literature, in order to activate interventions and regulations aimed at the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of pathological gambling. Giovanni Serpelloni Head of the Anti-Drug Policy Department, Vers. 4 April 2012, Rome]
Art 2
Purposes
To effectively pursue the purposes referred to in Article 1, the Italian State exercises its legislative powers for the purpose of:
to. Prevent the individually and socially harmful consequences of gambling
b. Promote measured, responsible and informed gambling
c. Ensure safe and transparent management of gambling
d. Tackling unauthorized and clandestine gambling
And. Prevent access to crime and money laundering in gambling
Art 3
Subject
Within the scope of the purposes expressed in article 1 and of the purposes expressed in article 2, this law has as its object regulatory interventions in the field of gambling, aimed at establishing:
Art. 4 Measures to protect vulnerable subjects
Art. 5 Measures to combat minors' gambling
Art. 6 Rules on advertising
Art. 7 Prevention and treatment for people affected by gambling syndrome with cash winnings - GAP
Art. 8 Establishment of the "Fund for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of pathological gambling - GAP", and financial coverage
Art. 9 GAP prevention cultural and training activities, research and monitoring of forms of GAP in Italy, and financial coverage
Art. 10 Fiscal harmonization
Art. 11 Competent authorities for the authorization of gambling and related limitations in defense of population categories worthy of specific protection
Art. 12 The National Observatory on Pathological Gambling Addiction
Art. 13 Competences of the Customs and Monopolies Agency
Art. 14 Tools to combat illegal gaming and mafia criminal infiltration
Art. 15 Traceability of financial flows in the physical collection of gambling and betting
Art. 16 Actions against fiscal and tax evasion
Art. 17 Establishment of registers of bets and betting competitions
Art. 18 Limitation of gaming locations for machines. The game rooms.
Art. 19 Characteristics of the games
Art. 20 Transitional period and moratorium for the introduction of new gaming machines and the opening of new gaming halls
Article 21 Sanctions
Art. 22 Repeals
Art 4
Measures to protect vulnerable subjects
Since the approval of this law, the managers of gambling halls and establishments offering games of chance authorized by the Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies subsequently incorporated, pursuant to current legislation, by the Customs and Monopolies Agency , or bets on sporting events, including horse racing, and non-sporting events, are required to display, at the entrance and inside the premises, the information material prepared by the local health authorities, aimed at highlighting the risks related to gambling and to signal the presence in the area of public and private social assistance services dedicated to the care and social reintegration of people with GAP-related pathologies
To this end, they are required to allow access to the places referred to in this article to the operators of the same public and private social assistance services, as well as to figures
professionals belonging to non-profit associations, authorized by the Local Health Authorities, in order to meet players with possible gambling pathologies and provide them with information and concrete and local support.
Art 5
Measures to contrast the game of minors
1. It is forbidden for minors under the age of eighteen to enter the areas intended for gaming with cash prizes inside the bingo halls, as well as in the areas and halls in which video terminals authorized by the Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies are installed, subsequently incorporated into pursuant to the legislation in force by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, and in points of sale where the main activity is betting on sporting events, including horse racing, and non-sporting ones. Violation of the prohibition is punished pursuant to article 24, paragraphs 21 and 22, of decree law no. 98 of 2011, converted, with amendments, by law no. 111 of 2011.
2. In order to fully implement the provisions referred to in the previous paragraph, the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, with reference to video terminals authorized by the Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies now incorporated by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, within three months from the date of entry into force of this law, issues a decree for the mandatory introduction, within the following six months, of suitable technical solutions aimed at automatically blocking access to games for minors. All gambling machines are equipped with an automatic system for detecting the personal age of the player, using an electronic card, health card or tax code. Automatic reading systems of personal data issued by the public administration are considered suitable.
3. In the period necessary for the adjustments of the gaming machines, referred to in paragraph 2 of this article, minors are identified by the owner of the business, premises or point of offer for gaming with cash prizes, by means of a request for presentation of an identity document. A pecuniary administrative sanction from 6.000,00 to 10.000,00 euros is applied to anyone who allows access to gambling machines to minors under the age of eighteen. In the event of recurrence of the violations, from the second time, the accessory administrative fine from 5.000,00 to 8.000,00 euros and the suspension, for three months, of the license to exercise the activity will be applied.
4. The Ministry of Social Affairs in agreement with the Ministry of Health and Public Education and with the representatives of the regions, will produce within one year of the entry into force of this law, a document with the guidelines in support of the activation of refresher courses for teachers acting as health reference teachers, in order to launch initiatives to prevent pathological gambling in compulsory schools
Art 6
Advertising Rules
The rules set out in paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of article 7 of the decree-law of 13 September 2012, n. 158, converted, with amendments, by law 8 November 2012, n. 189.
Furthermore, commercial communication relating to such games must not:
encourage excessive or uncontrolled gambling;
deny that gambling may involve risks;
present and suggest that gaming is a way to solve financial or personal problems, or constitutes an alternative source of income or livelihood to work, rather than a simple form of entertainment and fun;
induce the belief that the experience, competence or skill of the player makes it possible to reduce or eliminate the uncertainty of winning or allows to win systematically;
address or make reference, even indirectly, to minors, and represent the latter - subjects who obviously appear to be such - intent on gambling;
use signs, drawings, characters and people, directly and primarily related to minors, which can generate direct interest in them;
induce to believe that the game contributes to increase one's self-esteem, social consideration and interpersonal success;
represent abstention from gambling as a negative value;
induce to confuse the ease of the game with the ease of winning;
refer to consumer credit services that can be used immediately for gambling purposes.
Commercial communication must avoid any form of exploitation of
superstition and the ease on the part of some people to naively believe the messages that are proposed.
All commercial communications for games with cash prizes must contain a clear and precise warning that the game is forbidden to minors under the age of 18 and must avoid emotional messages that stimulate the use of tobacco and/or alcohol.
Gambling advertisements in protected time slots are also prohibited
public transport, and displayed or posted or disseminated less than 300 meters from sensitive places
attended by minors (schools, oratories, youth centres, etc.).
Banners (on online applications or sites) that promote gambling are prohibited, unless the
user does not expressly declare his majority in advance.
Information aimed at preventing the individually and socially harmful consequences of gambling is permitted, by activating information campaigns for parents and teachers, and specific campaigns for the elderly and immigrants
The client of the advertising message and the owner of the means by which the same advertising message is disseminated are both punished with a fine of from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand euros for each violation of the prohibition; a fine of fifty thousand euros is imposed on the concessionaire.
For violations in points of sale where the offer of bets is exercised as the main activity, the sanction applies to the owner of the point of sale, if different from the concessionaire.
The Customs and Monopolies Agency is responsible for contesting the offenses and imposing sanctions.
Violations of the rules on advertising by the Observatory pursuant to art. 12 of this law, as well as by the local police officers who have ascertained the violations during their ordinary control activities foreseen in the places assigned to collect the games.
Art 7
Prevention and treatment for people affected by gambling syndrome - GAP
Within two months of the approval of this law, the process must be completed, in agreement with the ministerial commissions concerned and the State-Regions Conference, which provides for the inclusion of pathological gambling within the essential levels of assistance to guarantee all citizens opportunities for treatment, legal benefits and tax opportunities on a par with subjects with other forms of pathological addictions. The task of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation will be entrusted to the Addiction Services, which, as they already operate for the other forms of addiction already recognized by the LEA, will have to promote outpatient, residential and information interventions.
The relatives of pathological gamblers, during the period of care of their relatives, have the right to psychological support to be received within the National Health Service.
Within a year of the entry into force of this law, the Ministry of Health, in agreement with the Ministry of Social Affairs and with the representatives of the Regions, will produce a document with the guidelines in support of the activation of refresher courses for operators of the SerTs, mental health services and the private social sector, so that they acquire the necessary skills in all contexts of the national territory.
The expenses necessary for the prevention and treatment of people affected by GAP, as well as for the support of family members, are found through the establishment of a national fund referred to in the following article 8 of this law.
Art 8
Establishment of the “Fund for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation
of pathological gambling – GAP” and financial coverage
The "Fund for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of pathological gambling - GAP" is established in favor of people suffering from pathological conditions related to GAP
The Fund is defined annually through the allocation of 1% of the total turnover of Italian expenditure on gambling, including the sum destined for the payout, that foreseen for the gaming chain and that foreseen for the Treasury. The percentage destined to the Fund is distributed through 0,33% coming from the remuneration of the operators and concessionaires included in the list filed with the Customs and Monopolies Agency, 0,33% coming from a special fund allocated by the State to the reduction of damages resulting from the proliferation of gambling, 0,33% coming from the decrease in the payout expected for players.
Part of this Fund integrates the anti-usury fund for the purpose of paying the debts from GAP
Within 60 days from the date of entry into force of this law, the Ministry of the Economy and Finance issues the consequent implementation regulations.
Art 9
GAP prevention cultural and training activities, research and monitoring of forms of GAP in Italy, and financial coverage
A portion, equal to 0,50% of the sums played intended for the remuneration of the operators and concessionaires included in the list filed with the Customs and Monopolies Agency, is allocated to the Social Policy Fund and transferred to the Municipalities, so that, within the area plans established by Law 328/2000, is used for local cultural, information and training activities, essential for the prevention of pathological gambling. This amount is used for:
– the opening of Help Desks on pathological gambling, aimed at listening, decoding the question and sending people who show real addiction problems to the SerTs
– training for all operators of commercial activities relating to gambling products aimed at understanding the risks of gambling, recognizing people with
gambling syndrome with cash winnings - GAP, to provide them with advice on turning to specialized facilities
– the strengthening of the funds for the Right to Study, so that they can include the activation of refresher courses for managers and teachers with the function of health referents, in order to start initiatives to prevent pathological gambling in the schools of the obligation
– the activation of information campaigns aimed at parents, the elderly, immigrants
– the adoption of measures aimed at building spaces and activities for sociability in cities and neighborhoods, an indispensable antidote for gambling addiction – GAP
A share equal to 1% of uncollected premiums and fines to gambling concessionaires and operators is destined for research and monitoring of the forms of GAP in Italy, as well as for the functioning of the Observatory referred to in article 12 of this law.
The Ministry of Health, in concert with the Ministry of Social Security, University and Scientific Research, supports scientific research projects relating to gambling and in particular epidemiological research on sample populations of the national territory. The results of the researches are also supplied to the Observatory referred to in article 12 of this law, for the purpose of the tasks it has to perform.
Art 10
Tax harmonization
The taxation for companies that manage gaming sites and halls complies with the dictates of the Decree of the President of the Republic December 22, 1986 n. 917, "Consolidated text of income taxes".
Art 11
Competent authorities for the authorization for gambling and related limitations in defense of population categories worthy of specific protection
The mayor of the municipality responsible for the area, with the opinion of the questore, issues the authorization for the opening of gaming halls referred to in article 18 of this law and for the installation of video terminals authorized by the Customs and Monopolies Agency. The mayor issues the authorization in compliance with:
– Articles 3 and 13 of Legislative Decree 267/2000 (Legislative Decree 267/2000, art. 3: "The Municipality is the local body that represents its community, takes care of its interests and promotes its development"; art. 13: "The municipality is responsible for all the administrative functions that concern the population and the municipal territory, especially in the organic sectors of services to the person and the community, the organization and use of the territory and the development
economic, except for what is not expressly attributed to other subjects by state or regional law, according to their respective competences"
– of the art. 13 of Law 833 of 12 December 1978 (Institution of the national health service): “All administrative functions in the field of health care and hospitalization that are not expressly reserved to the State and the regions are attributed to the municipalities. The municipalities exercise the functions referred to in this law individually or in association through the local health units, without prejudice to the powers of each mayor as local health authority".
The authorizations referred to in this article must comply with the territorial planning regulations of the local authorities. The authorization is granted for ten years and can be renewed upon expiry. The regions and municipalities may establish other sensitive places in relation to which the authorization referred to in this paragraph may be denied, taking into account the impact of the same on the urban context and on urban safety or problems connected with traffic, pollution noise or disturbing the peace.
In article 50, paragraph 7, of the legislative decree 18 August 2000, n. 267, containing the consolidated text of the laws on the organization of local authorities, the following sentence is added at the end: «The mayor can introduce limitations relating to operating hours and the location of activities that can prejudice categories of the population worthy of specific protection".
Art 12
The National Observatory on Pathological Gambling Addiction
The National Observatory on pathological gambling addictions, referred to in paragraph 10 of article 7 of the decree-law of 13 September 2012, n. 158 converted, with amendments, into law 8 November 2012, n. 189, is established at the Ministry of Social Affairs, and will carry out its functions autonomously and independently.
The National Observatory on Pathological Gambling Addiction has the task of evaluating the most effective measures to counter the spread of gambling and the phenomenon of serious addiction. In addition to experts identified by the Ministries of Health, Education, University and Research, Economic Development and Economy and Finance, representatives of the Italian Serts identified by the Regions and representatives of the representative associations are part of the Observatory of families and young people, as well as representatives of the municipalities and the third sector who work in the sector of GAP prevention and recovery
The Observatory has the task of:
a) monitor GAP addictions, with particular reference to the social, economic and psychological costs associated with such phenomena, as well as risk factors, in relation to players' health and any household debt;
b) draw up an annual report on the activity carried out, which may also indicate proposals aimed at improving the system of social-health and social-welfare interventions in the national territory. The report is forwarded to the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health;
c) promote information campaigns in order to prevent pathological behavior and forms of addiction deriving from excesses in gambling, also through the use of mass media, to protect consumers, with particular regard to minors and to vulnerable individuals. The campaigns inform the potential player in a correct, truthful and transparent way, also with reference to the contents of the various games of chance, the real possibilities of winning and losing and the serious risks that may derive from them;
d) monitor advertising content for the purpose of identifying forms of illegal or misleading advertising, including online. Report cases in which the provisions of article 6 of this law are not respected, both to the Competition and Market Authority, in order to activate the administrative and judicial protection powers attributed to it, and to the Agency of customs and monopolies for the application of the sanctions provided for in the same article 6.
Art 13
Competences of the Customs and Monopolies Agency
The Ministry of Economy and Finance assigns the Customs and Monopolies Agency the task of activating the directives on gambling coming from the Ministry itself. The Agency verifies that the technical provisions issued by the aforementioned Ministry regarding gaming systems as well as automatic gambling machines are implemented. It deals in particular with conformity assessment and approval. The Customs and Monopolies Agency carries out constant checks on the work of the concessionaires and carries out targeted action to contrast:
– to illegal gambling and criminal mafia infiltration
– the opacity of financial flows in the physical collection of gambling and betting
– to fiscal and tax evasion
– to the incorrect establishment and incorrect maintenance of the registers of bets and betting contests
Art 14
Tools to contrast illegal gaming and mafia criminal infiltrations
Without prejudice to the provisions of articles 67 and 94 of the code of anti-mafia laws and the prevention measures referred to in legislative decree 6 September 2011, n. 159, cannot participate in tenders or public procedures nor obtain the release, renewal or maintenance of concessions in the field of public games the person whose owner or legal or negotiating representative, or the general manager or the person in charge of the branch or permanent establishments in Italy of non-resident subjects or the beneficial owner of any corporate form, is convicted, even with a non-definitive sentence, or accused, or against whom a sentence has been issued applying the penalty upon request, pursuant to the article 444 of the penal procedure code, for one of the crimes envisaged by articles 314, 316, 318, 319, 319-quater, 320, 321, 322, 416-bis, 629, 644, 648, 648-bis and 648- ter of the penal code or, if committed abroad, for an offense of organized crime or money laundering from illegal activities. The same prohibition also applies to the investee, even indirectly, to an extent exceeding 2 percent of the capital or assets of natural persons who are convicted, even with a non-final sentence, or accused, or against whom a sentence of application of the penalty upon request, pursuant to article 444 of the code of penal procedure for one of the aforementioned offences. The prohibition to participate in tenders or to release or renew or maintain the concessions referred to in this article also applies in the event that the sentence, or the sentence applying the penalty upon request, pursuant to article 444 of the code of criminal procedure or the condition of defendant refers to the non-separated spouse, as well as to relatives and in-laws within the third degree.
For the purposes of certifications and investigations in the field of anti-mafia and the provisions of art. 4 paragraph 26 of the decree law n. 98 of 6 July 2011, trust companies, trusts and investment funds that hold, even indirectly, shares in the capital or
to the assets of public gaming concessionaires, to declare the identity of the principal or the beneficial owner.
Participation in public procedures relating to gaming by participants, even indirectly, through trust companies, trusts or investment funds that do not declare the identity of the principal or beneficial owner is prohibited. Within three months from the date of entry into force of this law, the concessionary companies and the companies for which public gaming concessions are being obtained must provide, at the request of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the list of shareholders who hold shareholdings through trust companies, trusts or investment funds, communicating the name of the agent for trust companies up to the natural person or beneficial owner, while for trusts the name will be communicated up to the natural person or beneficial owner. For investment funds, the reporting obligation set out in this paragraph is limited to individuals who hold a share of more than 5 per cent of the relative assets, up to the natural person or beneficial owner.
Art 15
Traceability of financial flows in the physical collection of gambling and betting
1. In order to ensure the traceability of financial flows to prevent criminal infiltration and the laundering of money of illicit origin, anyone, even in the absence or ineffectiveness of police authorizations or concessions issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance – Customs and Monopolies Agency, manages by any means, including telematics, on its own behalf or on behalf of third parties, including located abroad, forecasting competitions and bets of any kind must use one or more bank or postal current accounts, opened at banks or at the Poste Italiane Spa company, dedicated exclusively to the aforementioned forecasting or betting competitions. Expenses, disbursements of economic charges and financial income of any kind relating to forecast competitions and bets must transit through the aforesaid accounts.
2. The violation of the obligations referred to in paragraph 1 of this article entails the application of a pecuniary administrative sanction of an amount between 10 and 40 percent of the sums not transferred to the dedicated bank or postal current accounts. In the event that the owner of the business, venue or, in any case, of the gaming offer point is a company, an association or a collective body, the pecuniary administrative sanction referred to in this paragraph applies to the company, to the association or collective body and the legal representative of the company, association or collective body is jointly and severally obliged to pay the administrative fine.
3. As regards the recipients of the obligations established by legislative decree n. 231 of 21 November 2007, "Anti-money laundering decree", includes operators who carry out activities relating to the offer of games or bets with cash winnings, with the exclusion of lotto, lotteries with instant or deferred extraction and prediction competitions, on the physical network, by subjects in the presence or absence of the concessions issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance - Customs and Monopolies Agency.
The operators who carry out the activity of gaming hall management, as indicated in this article, proceed with the identification and verification of the identity of each customer who carries out operations of purchase and exchange of "fiches" or other means of game for an amount equal to or greater than €1.000,00. The data and information are acquired and stored using the IT systems they are equipped with to carry out their business and processing the information contained therein on a monthly basis.
The data and information refer to:
a) identification data (reporting the details of the identification document);
b) date of the transaction;
c) value of the transaction and means of payment used.
d) number of high denomination banknotes (500,00 and 200,00 euros)
In the same way, the operators referred to in the previous paragraphs proceed with the identification and verification of the identity of each customer for an amount exceeding € 500,00 and allow top-up operations on gaming accounts, purchases and vehicle exchanges gaming, exclusively through means of payment, including electronic money, for which it is possible to fulfill the identification obligations set forth in this decree. To this end, operators must register and acquire information relating to:
a) identification data declared by the customer when opening gaming accounts or requesting access credentials to online games;
b) date of the opening and top-up operations of the gaming and collection accounts on the same accounts;
c) the value of the above transactions and the means of payment used;
d) IP address, date, time and duration of the telematic connections during which the customer, by accessing the online casino manager's systems, carries out the aforementioned operations.
Art 16
Actions against tax and tax evasion
The possibility of contributing to the assignment or renewal of concessions relating to games, forecasting competitions and betting is precluded from companies that have committed definitively ascertained serious violations with respect to the obligations relating to the payment of taxes and fees, according to the Italian legislation or that of the State in which they are established.
Fiduciary companies, investment funds, trusts and all companies with intrinsic characteristics of opaqueness (for example anonymous companies), which are tax domiciled in States or territories not belonging to the European Union with preferential tax regimes identified pursuant to articles 20 and 127bis of the consolidated income tax law (Decree of the President of the Republic 22 December 1986 n. 917 and subsequent amendments), or which pay dividends to such companies .
Art 17
Establishment of betting registers and betting competitions
1. Anyone, even in the absence or ineffectiveness of the police authorizations or concessions issued by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance - Customs and Monopolies Agency, manages by any means, including telematics, on their own behalf or on behalf of third parties also located abroad, betting contests or bets of any kind, including online bets, must note in a special computer register, in relation to the operations carried out each day, the global amount of the sums played, the winnings paid and the difference between the amounts played and the winnings paid. The notation must be carried out, electronically, with reference to the day on which the operations are carried out, within the following working day. The entries in the national totalizer are equivalent to all effects to those envisaged in the register referred to in this paragraph.
2. Whoever does not keep or does not preserve the register envisaged by paragraph 1 according to the prescriptions is punished with a pecuniary administrative sanction ranging from 5.000,00 euros to 20.000,00 euros. The same sanction applies to those who, during the accesses, inspections or checks carried out for the purposes of the assessment
in the matter of the single tax on forecast competitions and bets, refuses to exhibit or declares not to possess or in any case withdraws the register envisaged by the aforementioned paragraph from inspection and verification
1. The penalty is doubled if evasion of the single tax is ascertained on prognostic competitions and on bets exceeding a total of 70.000,00 euros in the calendar year.
3. Whoever fails to carry out, in whole or in part, the registrations envisaged by paragraph 1 is punished with a pecuniary administrative sanction of an amount between 10 and 50 percent of the unregistered amounts.
In the event of failure to keep the computerized register, the sanctions referred to in paragraph 2 and in this paragraph are applied jointly, without prejudice to the provisions of article 12 of legislative decree 18 December 1997, n. 472, and subsequent amendments, and by article 5, paragraph 6, of the legislative decree 23 December 1998, n. 504, and the total taxable amount and the applicable rate of the single tax on prognostic contests and bets are determined
inductively on the basis of data and news however collected or become aware
of the territorial office of the competent Customs and Monopolies Agency.
Art 18
Limitation of gaming locations for appliances. The game rooms
Gambling machines (slot machines, video lottery machines and other games on video terminals authorized by the Customs and Monopolies Agency) whose license will expire or those for which new licenses will be purchased will be authorized only in special gambling halls game, which limit their spatial diffusion and limit their number, and which are not usable or connected with local public municipalities.
A special law identifies the categories of gaming halls, site and management concessions, revocation, limitation and suspension measures, administrative sanctions and penal provisions; the safety measures and the measures necessary to prevent the socially harmful consequences of gambling that gaming halls must adopt, the measures for prohibition and exclusion from gambling, as well as identification measures and entry restrictions are also defined.
Players can personally request to be excluded from the game. A national register is drawn up, available to all gaming rooms in Italy, of players who request exclusion from gaming sites.
The staff working in the gaming rooms and the merchants are required to attend training courses set up by the ASL/AUSL on the risks of pathological gambling and on the support network. Inside the gaming halls, the managers are required to display: a verification test, prepared by the competent Ausl/ASL for the area, for a rapid self-assessment of the risk of addiction, and information leaflets regarding the availability of assistance services.
Gambling machines must not be installed in areas of gaming halls reserved for smokers.
Art 19
Games features
Without prejudice to the right to the functional aesthetic characteristics of the various types of game, for the purpose of GAP prevention it is necessary to regulate the minimum time necessary for a game and to avoid colours, designs, sounds and noises that stimulate the continuation of the game beyond the realistic will of the player .
The minimum duration of the game is 4 seconds, and no software, specific equipment, or data processing methods may be used in the game.
The cost of each game must not exceed one euro, each win must have a value not exceeding 100 euros.
Art 20
Transitional period and moratorium on the introduction of new gaming machines and the opening of new gaming halls
During the transitional period, considered to be two years from the approval of this law, necessary for the implementation of the rules referred to in the previous article, the continuation of the operation of gaming machines in the premises where they exist according to the previous provisions is permitted institutional.
During the same period, the introduction of new types of equipment for gambling and betting with cash prizes is prohibited, the replacement of existing equipment at the time of the passing of the law with new equipment is prohibited, and the opening of new amusement arcades which are not contemplated in the provisions referred to in the previous article of this law.
Art 21
Sanctions
Anyone who intentionally:
to. opens or manages a gambling house without the necessary concessions and authorisations, or provides premises or facilities for this purpose;
b. fraudulently obtains a license or authorization by providing false information or otherwise;
c. violates the duties of care stipulated in this Act in the fight against money laundering;
d. evades the casino tax.
In serious cases, the penalty is imprisonment for up to five years or imprisonment for no less than one year. A fine of up to 2 million euros can be added to this penalty.
Anyone who acts negligently is punished with a fine of up to 500.000 euros.
Anyone who:
to. organizes or manages gambling games outside licensed gaming houses;
b. provides false information in a licensing or licensing procedure or otherwise unlawfully influences the licensing or licensing procedure;
c. installs gaming systems or gaming machines for the purpose of operating them without examination, conformity assessment or approval;
d. modifies gaming systems or gaming machines which have been subject to an examination, conformity assessment or approval and installs them for the purpose of operating them;
And. disregards the obligation to communicate information to the Customs and Monopolies Agency;
f. disregards the injunction of the Customs and Monopolies Agency to restore legal status or suppress irregularities;
g. authorizes people to whom gambling is forbidden to play;
h. informs the affected persons or third parties about a notification to the supervisory or prosecution authorities or about the opening of an investigation;
the. cause the inaccurate taxation of a casino by giving false information or otherwise.
Anyone who acts negligently is punished with a fine of up to 250.000,00 euros.
Art 22
Repeals
All legal provisions in conflict with this law are repealed.
