Italian Gaming Authority Emphasizes Compliance and Player Protection
ROME – The Italian Agency for Customs and Monopolies (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli) is intensifying its efforts to ensure that licensed gaming operators adhere to regulations designed to protect players, particularly minors. With the proliferation of online gaming sites in recent years, a thorough and continuous oversight is crucial.
Elisabetta Poso, Director of the Entertainment Devices Office at the Agency for Customs and Monopolies, emphasized the importance of comprehensive training for gaming operators during the “Behind the Scenes” event, a remote training initiative for gaming professionals organized by Codere Network. She stated, “Operators possess expertise in technical and commercial management, but when it comes to training, it is essential that they also rely on external professionals, especially in the psychological and behavioral fields.”
Poso further highlighted the Agency’s close collaboration with law enforcement. “The penalties for non-compliance are very severe, ranging from fines to license revocation, and even business closure,” she warned.
She also addressed the challenges and safeguards within the online gaming environment. “In online gaming, access is technically impossible for underage individuals. This is a safeguard that does not have the same effectiveness in physical gaming locations. Therefore, the Agency’s activity is also repressive: it identifies and obscures illegal sites and works to guarantee the integrity of the licensing system,” Poso concluded.
Alejandro Pascual, Regional Manager Europe & Country Manager Codere Italia, also spoke at the event’s opening, noting the significant changes in the sector since 2016. “The retail sector has suffered the impact of increasingly heavy restrictions on hours, distances, and advertising, while online has grown to become a structural element of the sector.”
Pascual added, “Even in contexts where gambling is illegal, people continue to gamble, often in clandestine and dangerous environments. Governments must protect vulnerable individuals without suppressing individual freedoms. It is necessary to put effective tools at the disposal of those who work every day in the sector.”
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