AGSI urges Italy to reject proposed one-point PREU increase on AWP machines
Regulation2 min read
In brief
- AGSI president Pasquale Chiacchio opposed a reported one-point rise in Italy's PREU tax on cash-prize amusement machines.
- Chiacchio said the sector has contracted by about 5% a year for five or six years.
- He proposed a five-year concession extension with transitional rules instead of the reported three-year extension to 31 December 2029.
- He asked the government to consult ADM and industry representatives before any further tax increase.
Pasquale Chiacchio, president of AGSI, the Italian association of betting operators, has opposed a reported proposal to raise the single tax on cash-prize amusement machines (PREU) by one percentage point, according to remarks he gave to the trade press. The increase is a reported possibility in the 2027 budget law and has not been enacted, the source says.
Chiacchio said the sector has contracted by about 5% a year for five or six years, and that a further one-point increase would penalise small and medium-sized businesses, many of them family-run. He said the effects would reach beyond operators and lessors to the bars, tobacconists and other venues that host the machines, and that a weaker authorised network could push demand towards illegal circuits, with consequences for both businesses and public revenue.
He referred to remarks by Lucia Albano, undersecretary at the economy ministry, who on 13 October told the finance committee that she opposed amendments seeking further increases in the tax on machines with prizes, citing the risk of lower stakes and a resulting fall in state revenue. Chiacchio asked why an increase is now being considered and called for the customs and monopolies agency, ADM, to be heard.
Chiacchio proposed a five-year extension of concessions, rather than the three-year extension to 31 December 2029 reported in the budget measures, accompanied by transitional rules that are sustainable and uniform nationwide. He said such an extension would require an assessment of the related fees, the effects on concessionaires and compatibility with the future reorganisation of the sector. He also said he did not want to set one part of the public gambling sector against another by taxing betting or virtual products more heavily to protect AWP operators.
Chiacchio called for the government to open a discussion with ADM and industry representatives before proceeding with further increases, saying businesses need sustainable measures rather than privileges. He warned that otherwise an immediate fiscal gain could come at the cost of a significant part of the legal market.