In yesterday's session in the Senate Budget Committee, the examination of the "Draft legislative decree containing provisions regarding the reorganization of the gaming sector, starting from remote gaming" began. Below is the full report of the session:
“The speaker Liris (FdI) illustrates the draft decree in the title, reporting, as far as it is concerned, with regard to article 5, that paragraph 3 is aimed at giving certainty of the tax levy for the entire duration of the concession, preventing modification of the fee requested by the State and the tax regime for gaming activities for the period of validity and effectiveness of the concession. The technical report states that this provision must be considered financially neutral, as the implementation of the provision referred to in Article 15, paragraph 2, letter h) of the enabling law is delegated to another delegated decree. In consideration of this assumption, there are no comments to make.
The article 10, regarding the preservation of the contractual balance and early expiration of concession relationships for remote gaming, provides that in the event of excessive onerousness occurring, resulting from significant and unforeseeable changes in the regulatory framework, in the event of impossibility to reach in good faith an agreement capable of restoring the original balance of the contract, the concessionaire can ask the Customs and Monopolies Agency to agree on an early expiry of the concession and the related consensual termination of the agreement attached to it. It is also provided that, with regulatory provisions, compensation may be provided in favor of the concessionaire to be determined according to principles of reasonableness and proportionality, to be paid based on the residual period of duration of the concession not enjoyed. The technical report states that the provision, although very limited in the possibility of occurrence, also in light of the growing trend in remote gaming collection, could give rise to the payment of sums in favor of the concessionaires, following, however, a specific provision legislation which will quantify the burden on public finances by providing the necessary financial coverage, asserting, therefore, that the provision does not determine new and greater burdens on public finances. In this regard, it observes that the provision in question, in providing for a right to compensation, gives the concessionaire greater contractual power, in the search, in good faith, for an agreement with the Agency, capable of restoring the original balance of the contract. It also observes that granting the concessionaire the power to request compensation, instead of renegotiating the contract, is the harbinger of determining charges whose quantification and coverage is postponed to unspecified regulatory provisions, which do not guarantee based on the content of the provision in examination, parliamentary control over the fulfillment of the obligation to quantify and cover the burden, pursuant to Article 81 of the Constitution. It therefore appears necessary to obtain further clarifications from the Government, as well as evaluate the opportunity to replace the words "regulatory measures" with "legislative measures".
The article 13 provides for the establishment and maintenance, at the Customs and Monopolies Agency, of a register for the registration, exclusively electronically, of the owners of ordinary or special resales of monopoly products authorized to collect public games, as well as those who carry out the activities of authorized top-up sales points. In this regard, the Government should confirm that the Agency is able to provide for the establishment and maintenance of the register without new or greater burdens on public finances. Article 20 provides that, with a regulation of the Minister of Economy and Finance on a proposal from the Customs and Monopolies Agency, subject to verification of neutrality on public finance balances, variations are permitted, in relation to individual remote games of the return of winnings and stakes, as well as of the levy measures directly proportional to the decrease in the collection of tax revenue. In this regard, he points out that the law in question does not provide for the transmission by the Government of the relevant regulation scheme to the parliamentary commissions also competent for financial profiles, in order to allow the verification of the aforementioned neutrality in the parliamentary forum. It is also provided that the measures adopted pursuant to this provision do not entail fiscal responsibility as regards their financial effects. It should be remembered that in this regard, tax liability is one of the safeguards put in place to protect public finances and that in previous cases of exclusion of liability, the limitation had only affected gross negligence, while it remained in the case of fraud.
In relation in article 22, concerning the strengthening of actions to combat the offer of remote gaming in the absence of concession, by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, in agreement with the police forces, in agreement with the Bank of Italy and making use of SOGEI, the Government should confirm that the administrations concerned will be able to provide for the planned activities with the human, financial and instrumental resources provided for by current legislation, without any greater burden on public finances.
In relation in article 23, paragraph 3, which provides for the publication without delay in the tender notice for the assignment of concessions for the collection of remote gaming, it is necessary evaluate the opportunity to integrate the draft decree in question with provisions aimed at calling the tender for the assignment of the concession for the management of the Lotto and other fixed-odds numerical games, expiring on 30 November 2025, which includes both the physical and remote distribution channels, in order to avoid the use of extensions and in order to achieve significant benefits in terms of tax revenue, both in relation to the tender mechanisms and the presumable improved concession conditions.
For the article 25, notes that the related provisions, in the face of greater revenue, quantified by the technical report, deriving from the provisions of articles 6, paragraph 6, letter n), and 13, paragraph 2, provide for different methods of use of the related revenue. In fact, while the greater revenues deriving from the payments made by the top-up sales points for registration in the relevant Register referred to in Article 13 paragraph 2, are immediately intended to increase the Fund for the implementation of the fiscal delegation, while those deriving from the payment of the annual fee by the concessionaires, referred to in article 6, paragraph 6, letter n), which are not highlighted either in the summary statement of the financial effects or in the text of the provision, are paid into the State budget to be then reassigned to the same fund.
Also note that, in relation to the further increased revenue deriving from the payment of a pre-established one-off amount to which the concessionaires are required for each concession requested, referred to in article 6, paragraph 5, letter p), a different use of the related revenue is envisaged. In fact, these increased revenues - highlighted in the summary table, but not in the text of the provision in question - are not allocated to the Fund for the implementation of the tax delegation, but, as shown in the aforementioned summary table, remain unused and therefore acquired by the sales.
In in relation to these aspects, it seems appropriate to obtain clarifications from the Government. For further information, please refer to Dossier of the Senate Budget Service n. 124 and of the Chamber of Deputies n. 171.
Undersecretary Freni reserves the right to provide the requested clarification elements.
The continuation of the examination is therefore postponed."
