Emmanuele Cangianelli, the President of EGP – FIPE, the trade organization of Italian gaming retailers, discussed the features of the betting industry in Italy and shared his thoughts on the latest events in the market.
Recently, it has become known that the Italian government is going to reform the betting market in the country. Have the leading operators faced any changes or challenges?
The Italian regulated market was set up over 15 years ago. A regulatory update is needed. This attempt has been underway for over 5 years. We hope it is the right time, coming out of the COVID-19 period, to reaffirm the benefits of regulation for consumers and the community, with a balanced distribution between specialized and general retailers and between retail and remote gaming.
What do you expect from the new law by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to regulate the gambling market in the country?
Certainly, the new regulation must ensure a balanced distribution framework in retail: for many years there has been a conflict of regulations between national and local provisions, which reduces the effectiveness of the regulated market and is not useful for the prevention of addictions. With this new regulation, a national self-exclusion register can be introduced, a responsible gambling solution that is guaranteeing important prevention results in other jurisdictions and in remote gambling in Italy.
What do you think about Football Saving Fund in Italy? Do you think it will change the betting market for the better?
The tax was introduced at the wrong time (after the first lockdown) and in the wrong way (by calculating it on the collection). This formulation strongly penalizes the regulated market and, in particular, makes the betting exchange practically unmanageable. We believe that betting can contribute a lot to the financing of sports activities, but this support must take place, as in the past, with the growing channeling of bets in the regulated market and with withdrawals on the margin.
It’s been almost 3 years since the Italian government banned the advertising on January 1st, 2019. How has it influenced the market during this time? What is your personal observation?
We understand that entertainment services such as gambling may be subject to even severe limitations. However, the Italian regulation of 2019 is excessively restrictive and is causing competitive disadvantages for operators, which have invested in the concession system, to the advantage of non-legal operators in the Italian market. In this sense, the law is certainly counterproductive, also due to the possibility for consumers to recognize authorized operators and, therefore, able to fully guarantee the consumers themselves.
Why is match-fixing dangerous for the Italian betting market? And what should operators do to exclude the market fall?
Match-fixing is the worst combination of illegality and consumer fraud. Fortunately, the Italian system foresees, up to the servers of the regulator. The goal is to extend it even further to avoid excluding competitions from the official schedules of the regulated market.
Have you already faced any positive consequences for the betting market after the Macolin Convention? What do you think will be next?
The Macolin Convention is fundamental for seeking maximum international cooperation against sports fraud, reducing the obstacles caused by the regulatory differences between jurisdictions. For a heavily regulated market like the Italian one for many years, this is positive news.
What do you see as the future for the sports industry and its integrity in Italy?
On the one hand, to maintain the great technological advantage aimed at consumer protection. On the other hand, to recover a system of taxation and contribution to the financing of sports (including horse races) mixed between the destination of tax revenues at all levels of the sports world and the restoration of the possibility of informing, also with sponsorships, about the activities of commercial operators.
How did the victory of the Italian national team at EURO 2020 affect the betting market?
The victory of the “Azzurri” was largely forecast, it was certainly not a business for the operators. It was important to have such an important tournament underway just for the first days of retail opening after the second Italian lockdown, in the summer season, to support retailers.
What are the goals of the leading operators in Italy nowadays?
All the main retail gaming operators, but also those of remote gaming, have an interest in a revision of the legislation that updates it but maintains the original principles of the regulation: maximum consumer protection, also possible with correct information, balanced taxation that pushes channeling, adequate territorial presence of operators, who operate with concessions in all channels.
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