Italian senator proposes exemptions for historic amusement machines

A bill by Senator Erika Stefani of the Lega party has been published in the records of the Italian Senate. The bill was communicated to the presidency on 16 September 2026. It would amend Article 110 of the TULPS (the public security consolidated act) as it applies to historic, period or culturally significant amusement machines. The report says the bill remains a legislative proposal and that the provisions it describes are not yet in force.

Under certain conditions, the bill would exclude these machines from conformity certification, clearance and further administrative requirements under Article 110, paragraph 7, of the TULPS. It does so by inserting two new paragraphs, 7-quater.1 and 7-quater.2, after paragraph 7-quater. The exemption would cover machines used exclusively free of charge at public cultural, artistic, educational, museum, trade fair, exhibition, promotional, sporting or re-enactment events, and within the activities of museums, foundations and cultural associations.

The categories named in the proposal are arcade cabinets, video games, consoles, simulators, pinball machines, table football, electromechanical machines and other gaming devices without cash winnings. To qualify, machines must have been initially designed and produced before 31 December 1999. The text provides that historic or cultural status may be presumed when machines are kept or displayed at the listed events or by museums, foundations or cultural associations. The qualification may also be attested by recognised bodies working in video game preservation.

The bill rules out any specific direct or indirect charge for using an individual machine. Access could therefore not depend on inserting coins, tokens, cards, credits or other means of payment. An entry ticket to the event, museum or exhibition remains permitted. The ticket could not set playing-time limits linked to the price paid. The bill also bans awarding prizes, winnings, tickets, credits, convertible points or other items of economic value. Use of the machines would be limited to the duration of the event, or fall within the permanent activities of the cultural bodies the proposal names.

Rules on safety, fire prevention and public safety would continue to apply. The organiser or responsible party would have to send a notice to the competent provincial public security authority. The notice would serve information purposes only and would not be subject to authorisation. The provincial authority could order checks on organisers at any time. If the conditions were breached, the machines would again be subject to the ordinary certification and clearance requirements from the point of detection. Penalty provisions for the unlawful operation of gaming would remain in place.

The published text contains no provision on minimum distances from sensitive locations. At the press conference, Stefani had raised the possibility of adding a minimum-distance provision, based on a suggestion attributed to the Senate's legislative office. The idea had drawn immediate criticism from operators in the amusement machine sector. The report says any further territorial requirements could be the subject of later amendments during the parliamentary process.

According to the explanatory report, the proposal is meant to address difficulties arising from applying procedures designed for newly made, commercially operated products to historic machines. It cites the difficulties faced by museums, cultural associations, collectors and event organisers in certifying such machines. The proposal states that the new provisions do not affect rules on public gaming with cash winnings. It also states that they must not create new or higher costs for public finances.