(Jamma) "Set up, in a short time, a discussion table with the representative bodies of the gambling houses to evaluate initiatives aimed at promoting their economic recovery and defining an organic regulation of gambling", is what was requested in the 'order of the day presented to the 'decree of doing' which received the trust of the Chamber yesterday, by the honorable member of the Lega Franco Marguerettaz. The agenda, as communicated by the presidency yesterday, was deemed inadmissible.
On the agenda, Marguerettaz explained that "the only four authorized Italian casinos are going through a seriously unfavorable situation in terms of revenues, so much so that the Casinos of Campione d'Italia and Sanremo have declared a state of crisis, the Municipality of Venice has decided to privatize its management, and the investments envisaged by the Casino of Saint-Vincent are at risk; the casinos authorized in our country today employ around 3.000 employees as well as generating a significant spin-off on the local economy; the same contribute to the direct financing of the Public Entities holding the concession rights; the crisis in the sector is therefore destined to have serious employment and economic repercussions in the territories concerned; the causes of the difficult situation are due, alongside the general negative situation of the country's economy, to the very strong competition represented by an ever-growing offer of new types of games, often not exempt from the gambling component, and above all managed without adequate control over economic transactions and without adequate protection as regards access by minors; to this must be added legislative provisions which, although conceived with shared intentions, penalize the activity without a concrete return in terms of effectiveness; Italian casinos also suffer from competition from those present in neighboring countries (Austria, France, Slovenia and Switzerland), often located a few kilometers from the border, where either there is no limitation on the use of cash, or there are much higher limits than those in force in Italy; the four Italian casinos, all under public control, have for some time been subject to a stringent series of obligations to guarantee the traceability and legitimacy of transactions, such as the obligation to identify all customers, the registration of those who carry out transactions equal to or greater than 2.000 euros, the reporting of suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit at the Bank of Italy; Authorized casinos are places where controls, security and the very fight against gambling addiction are more easily achievable than the «deregulation» today represented by the innumerable offers of games available on the web, in shops and in the so-called «slot halls» ; the authorized casinos are also active in a plurality of services relating to tourism, catering, reception and participate, with economic and human resources, in events of great artistic and cultural importance, to the point of being, in fact, part of the country's social history.
