Italian authorities in Agrigento have taken significant action against illegal gambling, recently shutting down two unlicensed betting centers and imposing fines that exceed €20,000 ($22,796). This coordinated effort, announced on Friday, involved the Italian customs and gambling regulator (ADM) and the Guardia di Finanza (GdF).
Inspectors from ADM’s Sicily 6 office and local units of the GdF conducted inspections at 14 betting shops and gaming halls in several towns, including Agrigento, Favara, Raffadali, Palma di Montechiaro, Campobello di Licata, Ribera, and the Pelagie Islands.
During these searches, authorities uncovered two locations pretending to operate as legitimate betting collection centers. At one site in Porto Empedocle, officials seized two computer terminals not connected to the national gaming collection network and found to be lacking mandatory identification codes. The disconnection of these terminals enabled them to circumvent the systems required to log stakes and plays, which could potentially lead to evasion of the single national gaming levy (PREU) associated with reported turnover on gaming devices.
As a result of this seizure, criminal referrals have been made, and the owner of the establishment in Porto Empedocle is under investigation, suspected of illegal betting activities.
Additionally, a recently introduced bill in the Italian Senate proposes a new 2% levy on all domestic football bets. This initiative is intended to create a funding source for Italy's football system. The levy will apply to all bets placed within Italy—both in physical shops and online—covering matches organized by the Italian Football Federation and its affiliated professional and amateur leagues.
This crackdown comes at a time when Italy’s gambling market faces a regulatory stalemate. EGP-FIPE, representing operators within the Italian Federation of Public Establishments, stated at a Senate hearing last month that the legal gambling market is hindered by an ongoing string of extensions for national gambling concessions, thereby freezing sector development.
EGP-FIPE President Emmanuele Cangianelli highlighted that when the physical betting options are rigidly restricted, gambling issues merely shift online or to the underground economy, where supervision is nonexistent. He noted that current territorial control measures are ineffective and lead to significant complications regarding legality and the sustainability of the authorized gaming network.
The ADM and Guardia di Finanza stressed that the investigation is ongoing, and they intend to continue their enforcement efforts focused on consumer protection, especially for minors and vulnerable individuals, while also combating criminal infiltration in the gaming industry. Authorities also reaffirmed the presumption of innocence for those reported until proven guilty in legal proceedings.
