Pubblicato il: 21 giugno 2023
80.6% of Italians believe that restricting the scope of legal gaming will broaden that of illegal gaming.
In addition to the activities carried out by the concessionaires, the State also plays an important regulatory and management role, which 91.3% of Italians believe is fundamental.
Issuance of the second Lottomatica-Censis Report, entitled “Legal Gaming in Italy. The social and economic value of gaming”. The study explores the social significance and functions of the legal gaming sector in Italy: a mass activity that involves millions of people, and constitutes a major economic asset for the country, generating business, employment, and tax revenues.
The overwhelming majority of Italians believe that the State and the concessionaires play a decisive and essential role in ensuring a safe, controlled, and legal system that keeps the illegal gaming system in check. The resumption of gaming collections is of considerable importance.
69.4% of Italians define gaming as a human instinct, while 47% have engaged in one or more types of legal gaming activities during the past year. Nearly 23 million Italians, therefore, claim to have taken part in gaming activities at least once in the last twelve months. For the gaming sector, the accelerated transition to digital life has also led to an increase in online activities, and 56.4% of those who engaged in legal gaming over the past year did so remotely.
Italians are increasingly in favour of the idea of legal gaming as a resource to be exploited from an economic and social perspective. 77.4% of the population (and 82.7% of young people) see legal gaming as entertainment, as well as a means for counteracting illegal gaming. The economic value that emerges is concentrated within the volume of business that legal gaming generates, the companies in the supply chain and the employment that they provide, and the tax income generated to support public spending.
61.3% of Italians believe that a restrictive approach to legal gaming would reduce the number of Italians who engage in legal gaming activities, and would consequently increase the number of people who engage in illegal gaming.
80.6% of Italians now believe that restricting the scope of legal gaming will broaden that of illegal gaming: this figure was 59.6% in 2021. 68.8% of Italians are also against reducing the number of physical locations where legal gambling is permitted, as this would encourage players to move to uncontrolled locations.
In addition to the activities carried out by the concessionaires, the State also plays an important regulatory and management role, which 91.3% of Italians believe is fundamental. According to 87.7% of citizens, consumer protection and compliance with the rules on gaming established at State level depend on the quality and reliability of the concessionaires’ activities.
88.6% of citizens believe that the regulation of the legal gaming sector should be decided by the State, with uniform rules applied throughout the country. A Consolidated Law should also be adopted in order to lay out the responsibilities and boundaries between the aspects relating to health protection, public order, taxation, business, and digital technologies.
89.7% of Italians believe that the state is responsible for raising awareness and educating the public about the risks of gaming addiction, but that everyone should nevertheless be free to decide whether or not to engage in gaming activities. This is a view shared among all age groups, genders, income ranges, education levels, areas of residence, and employment statuses.
In 2022, the State recorded an increase in overall revenues from taxation, which amounted to € 11.2 billion, not far off from the 2019 (pre-pandemic) figure of € 11.4 billion.
The 2022 figure can therefore be seen as a sign of vitality, in a sector that has begun regaining territory with the easing of the pandemic-era restrictions and constraints.
According to Sandra Savino, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economy and Finance: “It is necessary to bring order to the legal gaming sector in Italy. In this sense, I have convened a table with the main players in the sector in view of the tax delegation. Furthermore, it is necessary to involve the Regions so that a uniform legal framework is envisaged with the adoption of a Consolidated Law. The Government is very careful to guarantee transparency and legality by establishing certain rules to protect the companies operating in the sector.”
Wanda Ferro, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior, stated that: “The second Lottomatica-Censis Report is a fundamental tool that allows us to conscientiously address the needs of a sector that’s important and strategic from both an economic and social perspective. For millions of Italians, gaming is a fun activity to be enjoyed in a responsible manner. It is therefore appropriate that it takes place within an adequate regulatory framework. The freedom of citizens must be balanced with the protection of the most vulnerable groups, through training and awareness-raising policies.”
Marco Osnato, President of the House Finance Committee, stated that: “Italians are in favour of legal gaming. The tax delegation that we are currently dealing with provides for dialogue between the operators in the sector and the municipalities, so that appropriate locations can be identified within their territories. The government cares about the development of this sector, which, over the years, has successfully managed to reconcile the State’s needs with the freedom of enterprise.”
According to Mario Lollobrigida, Central Gaming Director for the Customs and Monopolies Agency: “It is essential to establish a legal system for the allocation of gaming points. In this regard, the gaming point manager also becomes a local defender of legal gaming. It is therefore my hope that shared rules will be established in the tax delegation through dialogue with the local authorities.”
According to Guglielmo Angelozzi, Lottomatica CEO: “This second report that we’ve prepared together with Censis clearly shows the social and economic value of legal gaming, which is becoming an increasingly important asset for our country. Italians consider the role of the State and the activities of concessionaires to be decisive factors, and believe that a reduction in legal gaming would lead to an increase in illegal gaming. We will therefore continue to guarantee our utmost commitment to ensuring the appropriate rules on the subject, secure in the knowledge that we play a useful role in terms of employment and business development.”
According to Giuseppe De Rita, President of Censis: “Legal gaming has social value, because it’s a mass activity in which millions of Italians enjoy taking part, pursuing a dream, even if only for a moment, and it has economic value because it fuels a system made up of businesses and workers, and generates revenue for the state. Italians demand to be able to play in peace and security, within the confines of a system delineated by the State, whose perimeter must be enforced by the concessionaires.”
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