The Regional Administrative Court for Sicily has scheduled the hearing on the merits of the appeal presented by the owner of a commercial business to request cancellation for June 20th. of the nightlife regulation of the Municipality of Palermo, which among other measures limits the operating hours of the slots.
The appeal refers to the impossibility of guaranteeing the continued service of the hired staff.
The TAR initially decided to accept the monocratic precautionary request, pending the collegial discussion, but only with regard to the application of the art. 5, paragraph 2, of the regulation (operating hours of gaming machines with cash prizes), without prejudice to the application of art. 5, paragraph 1 (opening hours of the business).
The Administrative Court asked the appellant to provide documented clarifications regarding which other activities are carried out within the premises (e.g. billiard games or other) and the number of staff assigned to the gaming machines, clarifying their duties.
The General Secretary of the Municipality of Palermo instead had to clarify whether any agreements had been reached with the Customs and Monopolies Agency regarding the text of the art. 5 of the Regulation.
Regarding the suspensive of the Nightlife Regulations by the TAR, the Municipality of Palermo wanted to clarify that the provision, pending the hearing for the discussion in the Council Chamber scheduled for next 11 April, concerned only the second paragraph of article 5, i.e. the one relating to the opening and closing times of gaming machines with cash winnings. The Councilor for Productive Activities, Giuliano Forzinetti said he was calm " and confident in the ruling of the Council Chamber, as the initiatives envisaged in the Nightlife Regulation were adopted to combat the phenomenon of gambling addiction and their legitimacy of action has already been supported by other sentences".
With an order dated 11 April, the TAR, in order to correctly evaluate the appellant's interest in appealing, asked to produce: a. the license dated 9 November 2015; b. any further authorizations from the Customs and Monopolies Agency subsequent to the license of 16 November 2018;
“- notice can now be given, pursuant to art. 73, c. 3, cpa, of the possible inadmissibility of the appellant's complaints regarding the provisions of the art. 5, c. 1, of the contested regulation, as they are not specifically contested in the appeal;
– the appellant's complaints nevertheless appear worthy of in-depth analysis typical of the merits phase;
– the precautionary needs of the latter, in the balance between the protection of employment levels and the public interest in a correct regulation of the phenomenon of legal gaming, can be adequately protected with the rapid setting of the hearing for discussion, without prejudice – in the more – the measures already established with the aforementioned presidential decree no. 122/2024 regarding the suspension of the application of only art. 5, c. 2 of the contested regulation".
