“The granting of slots to the commercial business near a school, park and church is a slap in the face to the residents and the city”. Alessandro Vitali, municipal manager of Il Popolo della Famiglia in Faenza (RA), comments on the decision to authorize the opening of the new slot hall: “We learn with disdain and deep regret – says Vitali – the decision to proceed with the opening of the new maxi slot hall (…). Despite the collection of citizens' signatures, the proximity of a school, a public park, a sports club and a church, work will begin for the creation of the new commercial activity.
As People of the Family we consider the political and social responsibilities of the Island Administration very serious. A decision that effectively debunks the Malpezzi Council, which in January 2019 had initiated, with a motion approved unanimously, a crackdown on slot machines, making the conditions for their opening even more restrictive. And some of the members of the Malpezzi Council are the same ones who animate the current city government. What has changed compared to 5 years ago?
Our comment and our indignation – continues Vitali – do not end here. We remind you that the Emilia-Romagna Region is committed to ad hoc tenders to operate in the territories against the social scourge of gambling addiction, gambling addiction, a real disease. In 2023, approximately 3 million euros were allocated to provide healthcare to individuals suffering from gambling addiction. An illness that then affects the families of the players. A commitment that evidently, for some reason still unknown to us, matters little to the current administration.
The society that we imagine as People of the Family is a healthy society, in which the administrative bodies, from the State to the municipalities, are committed to guaranteeing the well-being of citizens. We believe that the opening of this maxi business is within the limits of current regulations: there is no point in having it closed in 10 years. The effects that gambling has on society do not change. Today's defeat is a very serious cultural and social defeat for Faenza."
