Italy’s Council of State rejects ADM appeal over PVR rules for extended concessions
Regulation2 min read
Italy’s Council of State rejected the Customs and Monopolies Agency’s appeal, upholding a ruling that PVR register rules cannot immediately apply to remote-gambling concessionaires under technical extensions or their linked retailers. The agency argued that more than 23m points of sale had registered; the court said ADM had not shown that figure was not a reduction from the previously active network.
Italy's Council of State has rejected an appeal by the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), upholding a ruling that the rules on the PVR register of points of sale cannot apply immediately to remote-gambling concessionaires operating under technical extensions or to their linked retailers. The Sixth Section issued the judgment on 24 September 2026, dismissing the ADM's appeal against an earlier decision by the Lazio regional administrative court (Tar del Lazio). The Tar had partially upheld a challenge brought by Microgame, Playmatika and Vittoria Bet 2009.
The dispute concerned ADM's directorate determination of 25 October 2024, which established the PVR register under article 13 of legislative decree 41/2024, and the agency's subsequent FAQ published on 3 November of the same year. The concessionaires contested several aspects of the new rules, arguing in particular that applying the register immediately to holders of concessions under technical extension would breach the principles of stability of concession relationships and protection of legitimate expectations. The Tar upheld that specific complaint, holding that the new provisions could not apply to current concessionaires and their linked retailers before new concessions were awarded through the tender procedures set out in legislative decree 41/2024.
ADM argued on appeal that the register was immediately operative by express statutory provision, and that introducing it did not amount to a substantial change in the economic balance of the concessions. The agency also pointed out that more than 23 thousand points of sale had duly registered with the register, which in its view showed that the network had not suffered a significant contraction.
On the economic consequences, the Council of State said a reduction in physical collection points could cut concessionaires' revenue and profits, affecting their ability to offer services across the territory and therefore the economic balance of the concession relationship. The judgment also states that the use of the present indicative in article 13 of legislative decree 41/2024 and the absence of a specific start date are not enough to show that the legislature intended the new provisions to take immediate effect for concessionaires under extension. A different interpretation would, according to the judges, excessively compress operators' legitimate expectations and would not respect the unified design of the reform.
The Council of State dismissed ADM's appeal in full and confirmed the Tar del Lazio's decision. The PVR register and its rules therefore cannot be applied to current concessionaires under technical extension and their linked retailers under the immediate-effect regime contested in the proceedings, and must be coordinated with the new concession framework resulting from the tender procedures.