The Italian Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday pushed through a series of amendments to Italian laws on gambling machines, reports Gioco News.
The tax on AWP machines is increased from 13 per cent to 17.5 per cent - on the input rather than the cash box. The increase for VLTs is up 0.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent. Both will be unpopular with operators who are already complaining about the excessive tax burden and the risk that players will turn to illegal internet gambling. The minimum average payout level of a machine is raised from 70 per cent to 74 per cent.
These measures will remove the €500m tax on the operation of machines which was introduced with the Stability Law of 2015.
From January 1, 2016, Paragraph 6a devices can no longer replace operating machines, which will have the effect of limiting the distribution of new machines. There are also measures against operators offering promotional online games through machines located in public places, with fines between €50,000 and €100,000.
Compliance checks on VLTs and the games that are offered by them will be undertaken. No more licences for AWPs will be issued after December 31, 2017, and the machines removed from public places by December 31, 2019. From January 1, 2017, all AWP machines must be online. At the same time there must be a reduction of at least 30 per cent in the number of machines operated by each licensed operator. This will be part-governed by the geographical spread of the devices, the cost of new licences and the method by which the licences are paid for.
A conference of state, regions and local authorities will take place before April 30, 2016, to decide what type of locations will be permitted to have machines, together with the criteria to be used for their distribution and territorial concentration.
There will be a crackdown on advertising, governing excessive or uncontrolled gaming, which will prevent any suggestion that gaming is not dangerous or a way to solve financial difficulties. Advertising of games with cash prizes in radio or television broadcasts between 7am and 10pm will be banned, but professional news reporting on these subjects will not be subject to the ban. The use of advertising in the form of sponsorship in culture, education, research and sports, will also be excluded from the ban.
A fund of €50m for the treatment of compulsive gambling addicts will be established, provided from increased revenue from machine operating, and another €70m will be provided for assistance of students with physical or learning difficulties.
Taxation will begin on betting on January 1, 2016. Taxes on online gaming, is set at 20 per cent of the net receipts. Taxes on fixed odds betting from January 1, 2017, will be applied to the difference between the amount played and the winnings paid at a rate of 18 per cent if the collection is carried out physically, or 22 per cent if carried out remotely. For online bingo, from January 1, 2017, there is a single tax of 20 per cent of the cashbox. The authorities expect to collect an extra €15m annually from 2016 to 2018, in addition to the €171m already taken from AWPs and VLTs.
