CU in Italy Wants 5% Slot Revenue Share for Ordinary Statute Regions

Council members and presidents of Italy’s 100 municipalities and 20 autonomous regions have been asked to show support for the government’s ambitious plans to reorganize gambling.

Members of the Conferenza Unificata (CU), which is the body responsible for overseeing the cooperation between the governments of these regions and the state, have acknowledged the shortcomings prone to rise while supervising retail gambling venues in the country and asked the government to consider distributing a 5% share of the revenue from slot machines to those regions with “the Ordinary Statute.“

Regional Councilors Asking for an Additional €300M 

Besides the proposal for the 5% slot machine revenue share that the CU has recommended to endorse a boost in regional government funding for the implementation of safer gambling policies, regional councilors have issued their own demand.

Namely, while looking for the best ways to accommodate the fresh changes, counselors also required around €300 million ($322 million) to be added to their yearly budget. 

The money would be used to keep a close eye on land gambling venues, encourage the use of safer gambling practices, and improve the efficiency of problem gambling interventions.

The Reorganization Decrees, “Essential to Be Involved With” 

Regional and municipal councilors have been asked to regard the government’s decrees as being “essential to be involved with.” For this, they would need to be ready to offer feedback on the local measures taken and the resources allocated for countering problem gambling, which is the primary objective of the decree.

In this regard, the country’s autonomous regions were instructed to create a working group that would share the contents of the legislative decree tied to the reform rules used by brick-and-mortar gambling venues.

The government is looking to implement reforms that would impose gradual cuts in these venues, including bingo halls, game arcades, and betting shops, while relocating them to concentrated environments to promote safer gambling practices.

One of the priorities of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance is to modernize the legislation regarding land gambling venues to end criminal activities including the use of these venues for tax evasion purposes.

While detailing its support for the reorganization decrees, the CU also highlighted the fact that regional governments should at least be aware of the locations of the respective shops as part of the gambling retail network.

More Measures Were Proposed

During the preliminary hearings for the decree, additional measures were proposed, including the need for the government to impose a levy on brick-and-mortar gambling venue sales, similar to the levies imposed on tobacco and alcohol.

The decree, which has been given the green light from the government, is currently pending for the audit of the Parliament’s Finance Committee. The latter is expected to express its opinion on the size of the decree’s budget on February 22. 

Trade associations representative of Italian gambling operators along with retail stakeholders will make their views heard on the decree’s contents in Parliament on February 7. The government can decide to amend the decree with fresh sets of measures or publish it in the Official Gazette. 

At the start of January, Treasury Deputy Minister Maurizio Leo and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed their support for the reorganization of the land-based gambling industry, emphasizing the economic perks and enhanced customer safety.