Italy’s Council of State rejects ADM appeals over PVR rules for existing concessions
Regulation3 min read
Italy’s Council of State rejected the Customs and Monopolies Agency’s main appeals over immediate application of new PVR rules to online gambling concessionaires operating under extensions. In rulings published on 6 November 2026, it upheld the lower court’s finding that the changes required a transitional regime and partly accepted operators’ cross-appeals.
Italy’s Council of State rejected ADM appeals against rulings favouring Snaitech and Betpoint over the immediate application of new payment point rules to online gambling concessions operating under technical extensions. The court partly accepted the operators’ cross-appeals in rulings published on 6 November 2026.
The Lazio administrative court had annulled provisions allowing the rules to take effect immediately because they did not provide for a transition period. The Council of State agreed that the changes could materially affect the balance of the concessions. It said stricter requirements for payment point operators could reduce sales networks and concessionaires’ commercial capacity. The court said ADM’s figure of about 23,000 registered payment points did not rule out that effect without information on the size of the previous network.
The court held that online gambling reform, including the payment point rules, should be linked to the new concessions awarded through the tender rather than applied early to previous agreements. It cited European principles of proportionality and legitimate expectations, as well as Article 43 of Directive 2014/23/EU on changes to concessions.
The court said the lower court should have examined the operators’ other challenges because the substantive rules would remain relevant when the new concessions began. It rejected challenges to the €100 weekly limit on top-ups made in cash or using payment instruments that are not fully traceable. The judges said the limit should be assessed against health protection and gambling disorder prevention objectives as well as anti-money laundering rules.
The court rejected challenges to the ban on withdrawing gambling account funds at payment points and to rules governing contracts between operators and concessionaires. It said ADM’s frequently asked questions could clarify administrative provisions but could not make substantive changes to the rules. The judges rejected the operators’ claims of contradictions between the determination and ADM’s clarifications.
The court found the administrative determination non-compliant where it imposed an absolute, general ban on equipment that would effectively exclude internet points from the activity. The judges referred to constitutional case law that found an indiscriminate extension of the ban disproportionate to health protection and gambling disorder prevention objectives.
ADM established the payment point register in a determination dated 25 October 2024. The operators argued that applying new requirements to existing agreements would change their economic and operating conditions. Legal costs for the appeal proceedings were offset.
Snaitech and Betpoint won new concessions in a tender awarded on 17 September 2025. Their respective agreements were signed on 22 October and 6 October 2025. The court noted that a decision dated 27 February 2026 postponed operation of the new concessionaire system until 13 November 2026, while retaining the systems for controlling limits on cash and payment instruments that are not fully traceable at payment points.