Gaming1 executive says Italy missed chance to license gambling providers

Gaming1 casino operations director Cristiano Azzolini Di Maggio said Italy missed the chance to introduce a licence for game providers. He spoke on 5 November at a panel during the SiGMA Central Europe Summit in Rome.

Azzolini Di Maggio said the new concession system could have been an opportunity to formally recognise the role of suppliers of games and technology. In his view, it would have been appropriate to provide a dedicated licence, a register of suppliers and a system of obligations and financial charges tied directly to their activity.

On game certification, the Italian concessionaire does not develop the product directly but must carry out the requirements and bear the related costs of making it available on the regulated market. Azzolini Di Maggio said this approach concentrates the burdens on the operator, even where an external provider made the game and it has already undergone earlier technical checks. He also raised responsibility for any anomalies or problems in how a game works. According to the report, the concessionaire must answer to the Italian regulatory system even where the supplier has pre-certified the game and contracts govern the relationship between the parties.

Comparing Italy with international markets, Azzolini Di Maggio stressed the need to simplify procedures and to define more evenly the roles of those involved in producing and distributing games. The report said the new concession framework has changed the conditions for operators to enter and remain in the market, without introducing a separate authorisation category for content providers.