Council of State rejects Interior Ministry request to suspend Rosarno betting-centre ruling

Italy's Council of State has rejected a request by the Interior Ministry to suspend the effects of a ruling in which the TAR administrative court of Reggio Calabria annulled the refusal of a public-security licence for a betting centre in Rosarno, in the province of Reggio Calabria. In order No. 4493/2026, published on 22 October, the Third Section held at the interim stage that a negative reliability assessment must be adequately reasoned when the Questura denies authorisation to a business admitted to judicial control under the anti-mafia code.

The betting centre has operated in Rosarno since 2016. In October 2023 the Prefettura of Reggio Calabria issued an anti-mafia interdiction against the business, and the Questura then revoked its licence. In March 2025 the prevention-measures section of the Tribunale of Reggio Calabria granted the owner's request to enter voluntary judicial control under article 34-bis of legislative decree No. 159/2011, a measure aimed at recovering the business through supervision and remediation that suspends the effects of the anti-mafia interdiction for its duration.

During the judicial control the owner signed a contract with the concessionaire Eurobet and invested about €26,000 in fitting out the premises. In June 2025 he filed a new licence application under article 88 of the consolidated public-security law. The Questura rejected it by a measure dated 23 December 2025, holding that admission to judicial control was not in itself enough to overcome the reliability assessments reserved to the public-security authority. The refusal cited checks in which the owner had been found in the company of people with criminal records, including a relative.

Lawyers Vincenzo Melara and Davide Vigna challenged the measure, arguing that it relied on circumstances already considered in the prevention proceedings without identifying further elements capable of justifying the refusal. By judgment No. 631 of 21 September 2026, the TAR of Reggio Calabria upheld the appeal and annulled the refusal. The administrative judges held that the Questore retains an autonomous power of assessment but should have identified specific circumstances that the prevention judge had not examined, rather than basing the measure on facts largely predating the business's admission to judicial control.

The Interior Ministry appealed to the Council of State and sought interim suspension. The Third Section rejected that request, observing that the negative assessment of the owner's reliability "non appare adeguatamente e logicamente giustificata con il riferimento a fatti risalenti al periodo precedente all’ammissione dell’impresa al controllo giudiziario". In the judges' view, the risk assessment must address whether relations with people linked to mafia circles could continue in the future, so a bare reference to past circumstances, without adequate reasoning on their present relevance, is not sufficient.

The Council of State added that annulling the refusal does not automatically oblige the Questura to issue the licence. The Questore remains competent to assess the requirements set by public-security law, provided that power is exercised in line with the criteria set out by the judges.

The dispute has had operational consequences. The betting centre was able to operate between February and September 2026 under a provisional authorisation obtained after an earlier interim intervention by the TAR. During that period the business remained under the supervision of the judicial administrator, who carried out 11 inspections without raising objections. The Tribunale also extended the judicial control until 2027, with the favourable opinion of the Public Prosecutor.

When the provisional authorisation expired on 16 September, the outlet stayed closed pending administrative decisions. Despite two formal notices from the lawyers, the position was not resolved, and one of the two employees was dismissed. According to the note sent by the lawyers, the licence was issued after the Council of State's ruling and the betting centre has resumed operations.

"Il controllo giudiziario è una scommessa dello Stato sulla legalità di un’impresa", Melara said, adding: "Non ha senso che un’altra articolazione dello Stato la renda impossibile". The interim decision does not end the litigation, which will continue with examination of the appeal on the merits. The legal question concerns the relationship between the autonomy of public-security authorities' assessments and the effects of anti-mafia judicial control, particularly where a business has been admitted to a recovery process under judicial supervision.