The Italian government has imposed a reduction of more than 140,000 Awps in Italy, implemented starting from May 2018: and the sector is abuzz, between new charges and appeals to the Courts.
From May 2018, Italy is no longer the country with the largest number of Awps, after the reduction imposed by law by the government, that has disappeared 142 thousand slots from the Italian public places. By setting a
maximum "limit" of about 265,000 devices (35% less than before, when we had about 408 thousand Awps), which can no longer be exceeded.
This is the result of the 2016 Stability Law (and of the pressure from Italian regions that no longer tolerate the spread of AWPs in bars), implemented during the summer 2017, which imposed the reduction of slots in Italy in two different temporal waves: the first one, set at December, the 31th, 2017, saw 15% of slots network disappear, and the second one, set at last April, the 30rd, removed another 34.9% of the national network devices.
A new legislation that, as was predictable, caused a panic among the insiders, already chocked by regional laws that are limiting the installation of slots on different areas. To the point of opening a series of legal disputes between slot managers, concessionaires and the regulator. Also due to a confusing interpretation of the national law by Agenzia delle Doagane e dei Monopoli, the Italian gambing regulator. For an increasingly agitated and divided market, among operators. “A doubtful and undemocratic system is in place on the AWPs reduction began last December: for example, some concessionaires are using methods causing a distortion of competition in the market, obviously to their advantage", explains Sapar's president, Raffaele Curcio. "And this confirms the fact that the Awps reduction, established with the excuse of protecting players, is only obtaining the effect of facilitating other gaming offers and ruining the supply chain and operators, in favor of big gambling lobbies". Italian Awp operators badly tolerate the "reorganization plan" carried out by the previous government which led to the cutting of slot machines in Italy, only concerns Awps and doesn't affect other gaming forms. Not even Videolotteries: although these are very similar to slots, even if much more "aggressive" (with bets up to €10 thousand and winnings up to €5,000 with the possibility of jackpot of €500,000). For a real regulatory paradox, given that individual regions follow the same way, and in their laws (additional and different ones compared to the government reduction) they limit, again, the only use of Awps. "The limited effectiveness of these measures is now clear, while the financial losses with decline of productive and employment chain is sure - Curcio adds. If actually the measures that Municipalities and Regions are promoting, or have already implemented, must seriously protect the compulsive player, these measures must immediately affect all legal gaming offers; then we also have to start worrying about illegal offers, on which any provision has clearly little effectiveness. Any statement will be ineffetive and therefore without protection, until a serious discussion will be opened, free from any interest in facilitating anyone, by integrating all the actors involved, including associations of the production chain”.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SLOTS
However, among the various novelties provided by the new legislation there is also the obligation to destroy and dispose of slots against operators. Also starting from May 2018, together with the reduction, with the Legislator who would like to avoid an illegal use of the devices withdrawn from the market. But this causes additional costs and charges for the operators, who certainly didn't need it. The new law - which led to the entry into force of the decree of the State Monopolies on slots disposal, requires the owner of the abandoned devices to "dispose and destroy the devices themselves" according to specific procedures, within the term of 6 months from the expiry of the relative authorization, offering an alternative to such disposal and destruction operations: the owner of expired devices may in fact eventually sell and transfer the interested slots to the producers of gaming machines or abroad. But they must in any case communicate to the Adm's competent regional offices, according to pre-defined ways and times. For those who don't follow these legal requirements, delivering gaming machines to companies registered in the National Register of Environmental Managers in the relevant categories and assigned to authorized facilities, the fines are very high, up to €20 thousand. Waste collection must exclusively take place at the address indicated by the owner, who must report to the Monopolies, well in advance, the analytical list of devices and gaming cards to be disposed and destroyed to be delivered to the persons in charge and to communicate the date and place of delivery operations, to allow the presence and control of the staff of the regulator. In particular, sending the location statements of the expired devices is allowed from May, the 21th, 2018 to June, the 4th, 2018. All that, while part of the industry is waiting to know the verdicts that will have to arrive from the various courts. Even if in the meantime, the withdrawal of the devices from the premises has already been implemented, to avoid worse consequences.