Pubblicato il: 02 dicembre 2022
Legal gaming, responsibility and consumer protection. This was the main focus of the Naples edition of Lottomatica Talks.
The national tour organised by Lottomatica Group, which began in recent months and has now reached its fourth stop, is aimed at raising local awareness of the issues relating to the fight against illegal gaming, responsibility, and consumer protection, and improving the dialogue between the institutions, the local authorities, and the economic and social players throughout the country on the one hand, and the main players in the public gaming sector on the other. A fully regulated industrial sector in which 300 concessionaires, 3,200 management companies, and 8,271 companies operate, and in which more than 40,000 people are directly employed.
As noted during this morning’s debate, illegal gaming remains one of the sector’s main problems, and must be addressed in a unified manner. However, industry estimates show that the illegal gaming market in Campania is worth nearly € 2.5 billion. In this regard, a recent survey conducted by Winpoll showed that 39% of respondents considered this data on illegal gaming to be extremely worrisome, while 35% considered it somewhat worrisome.
The speakers at the Neapolitan leg of Lottomatica’s tour included the Chairman of the Campania Capital’s Budget Committee, Pier Paolo Baretta, the Gaming Director for the Duties, Customs and Monopolies Agency, Stefano Saracchi, the President of the Naples Chamber of Commerce, Ciro Fiola, National President of the Sports Betting Outlets Union (STS), Emilio Zamparelli, and psychiatrist Sarah Viola. The initiative was moderated by La7 journalist David Parenzo, and was introduced by Lottomatica's Senior Manager for External Communications, Andrea Picardi.
The Chamber of Commerce President, Mr. Fiola, spoke first at the conference, and immediately raised the subject of bank guarantees. “It is necessary to ensure that businesses are able to carry out their business activities,” he said in his introductory remarks.
The debate then got into full swing with the subsequent keynote speech by Mr. Baretta, who reiterated the various regulatory approaches adopted over time in the field of gaming by the institutions. He went on urge those present to consider the sector from an industrial perspective, to avoid adopting any approach that would either be excessively restrictive or non-restrictive, and to maintain a high level of dialogue among all those involved. “Gaming is one aspect of life, and it becomes problematic if it becomes the most important aspect of one’s life,” said the Chairman, who also emphasised that “it is necessary to come up with a more organised, high quality, and socially-advanced territorial distribution scheme. I know that the businesses are thinking about it, there’s no need for 60,000 bars that offer gaming. That's a dispersion from a market perspective as well.” In this regard, Baretta stated that “we need to start discussing the matter again, and come up with a new regulatory initiative that accounts for the changes that have taken place, and from this perspective the regional regulation can serve as a point of conciliation.”
The speech by STS National President Zamparelli was along the same lines, reiterating how gaming would remain in the hands of unlawful actors until the sector becomes less restrictive. “We are on the front lines in the fight against illegal gaming. We are the last link with the consumer,” Zamparelli noted, adding: “We are on the front lines against this lawlessness, which remains rampant, and is perhaps too little talked about. This lawlessness diverts resources away from the State’s revenues, and poses a threat to consumers.” In Zamparelli’s opinion, “a player left in the hands of the illegal gaming sector is a loss. It is in our interests to ensure that gaming is carried out according to the rules, and in a way that protects the players: if we backtrack on our efforts to enforce legal gaming, then we’re simply giving a gift to the unlawful actors.”
According to psychiatrist Sarah Viola, “human beings have a right to engage in gaming activities. These activities only become problematic when they interfere with the rest of our lives.” However, she also noted that “not everyone is at risk of becoming a problem gambler. There’s a specific profile.” Moreover, in Viola's opinion, “believing that we can eliminate problem gambling by moving gaming halls and closing them at certain times is an extremely dangerous conceptual and cultural error. The problem gamer must be surrounded by a network that can provide them with assistance in every area.” A network in which all the “industry players” must also be present.
Finally, the debate concluded with a speech by the Gaming Director for the Duties, Customs and Monopolies Agency, Stefano Saracchi, who began by pointing out how, from an industrial perspective, “the gaming sector has become extremely important at both the national and international levels.” In this context,” Saracchi added, “maximum attention must be placed on protecting players and combating illegal gaming activities. There is nothing more serious than gaming. It’s a sector with € 8.3 billion in tax revenues, and is forecast to reach over € 12 billion by the end of the year.” Director Saracchi went on to highlight the need for an innovative approach in this respect: “The forecast for 2022 is € 138 billion in gaming collections, a figure that reveals how the gaming industry is one that must be taken very seriously. While it is true that there is room to streamline the range of products and services, we must nevertheless think with a much broader horizon.” To this end,” he concluded, “the Agency and the concessionaires must conduct a joint study in order to determine how to best manage the future developments in the sector.”
Lottomatica’s tour will resume in 2023, even based on the insights gained during the Neapolitan leg and the previous stops in Rome, Trento, and Florence.
