Industry News - Italy

Online Operators Look To Rewrite Italy’s New Blocking Rules

17/02/2009: As Italy’s gaming sector booms – and delivers billions in fresh tax revenues – the country’s MPs have been unable to resist the temptation to come up with new legislation to modify the present regime, but the idea of a single, government run online gaming portal has proved too much for the industry to swallow.

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Italian Authorities Prepare For Stinging EU Fines

21/01/2009: Italian authorities are said to be bracing themselves for significant fines from the EU following their decision to withdraw and modify their plans for new betting shop licences, as required by a previous European court ruling over disputed horseracing licences.

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Italian Slots Sector Hit By New Year Tax Increases

14/01/2009: Taxes on gaming machine turnover were increased by 1.4 percent under new laws passed at the end of 2008, although lobbying efforts from the sector have since been successful in reducing the applicable tax rate under legislation aimed at assisting Italian businesses during the current economic downturn.

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Italy’s Lottery Tender Heads For European Scrutiny

28/11/2008: With Italy’s lottery business booming, the Italian government is now likely to be obliged to justify its choice of operator in the European courts as the tangled tale of the country’s Superenalotto tender process enters its final act, thanks to a challenge from excluded bidder Stanleybet.

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Fearing European Heat, Italy Suspends Licence Tender

09/10/2008: The tender process for 329 of Italy’s disputed historic horseracing betting licences, due to be completed by the end of October, has been suspended. The decision, which was anticipated last month, should prove a cause for celebration for the country’s new licensees.

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Italy’s Betting Tender To Be Withdrawn And Redrafted

11/09/2008: Announced at the end of August, the long-awaited retender of the 329 Italian betting shop licences that were assigned illegally back in 1999, according to the European Courts of Justice, now looks set to be withdrawn and rewritten as a result of legal action by bookmaker Stanley International and pressure from Europe.

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Online Poker Debuts In Italy

03/09/2008: Online poker, now officially sanctioned by the Italian gaming authority AAMS, has gone live in Italy and yesterday the first real money games took place on an Italian licensed website.

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Italian Horserace Betting Tender Now Set For October

28/08/2008: The Italian Government has confirmed that a new tender process to award over 500 horserace betting licences will be conducted during October. The tender has been put into motion by a European Court of Justice ruling that Italy illegally re-awarded 329 licences to domestic operators back in 2000.

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Italian Betting Tender Pushed Back ‘Til Autumn

11/08/2008: The ongoing saga of the 329 Italian horserace betting licences that the European Court of Justice said were extended illegally by the country’s gaming authorities in a 2000 tender process appears no closer to reaching a conclusion in August, despite pledges by the Italian government that a new tender would be held this month.

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Roman Court Rejects Blacklist Damages Claim

17/03/2008: Rome’s administrative court has played a central role in questioning the validity of Italy’s blacklisting policy against foreign betting companies, but last week refused to hear a case relating to losses sustained by betting operators who claim to have been harmed by ISP blocking. The controversial court decision instead turned up the heat on the claimants, calling their legal status into question.

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