Council of State annuls ADM ban on customer devices at Italian PVRs

Italy's Council of State annulled the provision in an ADM determination that barred points selling top-ups (PVRs) from installing and providing customers with equipment for accessing online gambling, according to a circular from the FIPE trade federation. The court upheld the overall weekly limit of €100 on cash top-ups. FIPE published its circular no. 123 on 5 November 2026, covering PVR rules after the Council of State's ruling no. 7220 of 30 September 2026.

According to FIPE's account, the judges found the general nature of the ban disproportionate because it extended to computers, tablets and freely browsing devices. FIPE said ADM remains able to introduce a more proportionate rule. On the cash limit, the court said the measure serves health protection and the prevention of gambling addiction. The concessionaire must ensure compliance with the threshold through its IT systems. The court also confirmed the ban on withdrawing funds held in gaming accounts at PVRs.

The ruling concerned a challenge to the ADM determination of 25 October 2024 on the PVR register. The original dispute concerned whether the registration requirement applied to concessionaires under extension and their affiliated retailers, on which the TAR Lazio had ruled in judgments no. 4004/2025 and no. 4391/2025. The Council of State confirmed that the new regime could not be applied before the new concessions were defined.

The FIPE circular also covers ADM determination no. 675265/RU of 22 October 2026, which sets out conditions for using payment instruments other than cash. The determination distinguishes three top-up methods. Cash top-ups stay within the weekly €100 limit enforced by concessionaires' systems. Regulated payment instruments are not subject to the €100 limit provided they allow unique identification of payer and payee and the recording of transactions. Limited-use instruments are also exempt from the limit if they comply. The issuer must attest to the requirements for limited-use instruments in a sworn report from a third-party expert, submitted to ADM through the concessionaires. A transitional regime runs until 31 March 2027 for filing the sworn reports for instruments already in use and compliant. ADM passes data to the Guardia di Finanza and the Banca d'Italia and, where requirements are missing or reports untrue, suspends operation and applies penalties to concessionaires and anti-money-laundering sanctions. The determination restates the ban on withdrawals and payment of winnings at PVRs.

FIPE's operational guidance says retailers must identify and verify the identity of the customer for every top-up. It says retailers are not to carry out legal verification or the sworn attestation themselves, which are tasks for issuers and concessionaires. FIPE said it views positively the introduction of clear criteria for traceable instruments and new technologies. It added that complexity should not lead to operational uncertainty, and said it will keep monitoring regulatory developments.