“I thank the Honorable Quartini and the honorable speakers for having drawn attention to the problem of online gaming, not only gambling, which is increasingly spreading among young people through the use of smartphones and tablets. In this regard, I must start by saying that - as I have already stated on several occasions - the Observatory for combating the spread of gambling and the phenomenon of serious addiction operates at the Ministry of Health, established pursuant to Article 7 , paragraph 10, of the legislative decree of 13 September 2012, n. 158, converted, with amendments, by law 8 November 2019, n. 189. This body carries out functions of monitoring gambling addiction, identifying and defining suitable interventions, including innovative ones, to combat said addiction, with reference, among other things, to the field of online gambling. Among the essential tasks of the Observatory, there is the updating, on the basis of scientific evidence, of the lines of action to guarantee prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services aimed at people suffering from gambling disorder".
That's what he said Marcellus Gemmato (in the photo), Undersecretary of State for Health, responding to theinterpellation of the 5 Star Movement - initially signed by Quartini - which asked for initiatives to be undertaken to ensure, through subsequent measures, "the fulfillment by the State of the constitutionally protected duty of protecting health, safeguarding the specific competences of the Ministry of health, the independent role of the Gambling Observatory as well as the functions of the municipalities and regions, also strengthening the ban on advertising promotion of gambling and counteracting the social and economic impoverishment of the population".
“With the decree of the Minister of Health 16 July 2021, n. 136 - added the Undersecretary -, the regulation was then issued introducing the lines of action to guarantee prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services aimed at people affected by pathological gambling. As regards the alleged absence of adequate and coherent provisions for the pursuit of the objectives of protecting vulnerable subjects, within the scope of Government act no. 116, concerning the legislative decree containing provisions on the reorganization of the gambling sector starting from remote gaming, I believe it is right to point out that, already from the list of fundamental principles to be observed in the exercise of public gaming, contained in article 3, in addition to the protection of minors, the development of safe gaming aimed at ensuring the protection of the player, especially if belonging to vulnerable groups, both from the point of view of health and that of public order, is expressly mentioned and safety with respect to criminal phenomena, as well as the promotion of responsible gaming aimed at avoiding anomalous or distorted forms of gaming, or in any case likely to generate pathological dependence in the player.
These principles – continued Gemmato – reinforce the need to ensure the protection of the player from a health point of view and avoid anomalies and distortions likely to generate pathological dependence. These principles also find their explanation in several articles of the legislative decree, such as for example the obligation to adopt and make available mechanisms for the protection and protection of the player by the holders of the concession for the exercise and collection of distance of games: article 6, paragraph 6, letter e). The primary objective of pursuing full and reliable protection of the player's health, through suitable measures to prevent any gaming method that may generate pathological behavioral disorders or forms of gambling addiction: article 14, paragraph 1. The establishment of the Permanent Games Council public, admitted in Italy with the aim of monitoring the progress of gaming activity and their effects on the health of players, as well as proposing to the Government suitable measures and interventions for the purpose of countering the development of gambling addiction, as stated in the article 14 paragraph 3. This Council, however, does not replace the Gaming Observatory but supports it, having different components, skills and functions. Furthermore, the following article 15 dictates 8 criteria aimed at safeguarding and protecting against pathological gambling to which the concessionaires' gaming systems will have to adapt. These are measures of self-limitation of gaming in terms of time, spending and loss of money, limitations based on the amounts deposited in a gaming account, according to the age of the player and his gaming behavior, based on the best international practices in the sector. Automatic messages during the game that draw the player's attention to the time spent in the game, how much has been spent and whether preset limits have been exceeded; obligation to have compulsory information content on problem gambling and on the prevention and support tools offered on gaming sites; tools for self-exclusion from gambling, temporary or even permanent; activation of contact and assistance channels available to players, as well as mandatory training of call center operators contacting players; monitoring of risk levels associated with individual games; presence of suitable tools to guarantee the concessionaire greater control over the degree of participation in the game of the players most exposed to the risk of pathological gambling.
Finally, I note that the aforementioned draft delegated decree was submitted to the opinion of Commissions V and VI of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic which, in issuing their favorable opinion, formulated some observations requesting, among other things, the the inclusion in the same provision of the fundamental principle to be observed in the management of online gaming of the promotion, communication and information of messages for the sole social purposes functional to the diffusion of safe and responsible gaming, for the purposes of the protection of players and, in particular, of most vulnerable and in order to prevent and combat pathological gambling, bearing the logo or brand of the concessionaire promoting the message. This observation was implemented in the text of the draft delegated decree, which was definitively approved by the Council of Ministers, in the session of Monday 11 March 2024, with the insertion of the said principle, letter m), in article 3, paragraph 1, and reiterated in paragraph 3 of article 15. In light of what has been stated, I can confirm that both the protection of the player's health and the provision of communication functional to the diffusion of safe and responsible gaming are adequately guaranteed in the scope of the legislative decree to be issued", concluded the Undersecretary.
