Italy's Council of State upholds betting and VLT refusal near Verona clinic
Regulation1 min read
Italy's Council of State upheld the refusal of permits for a betting outlet and VLTs at premises less than 400 metres from an outpatient clinic in Verona province. The court said Veneto's law expressly includes outpatient health facilities among protected locations; the company had argued that the premises were mainly administrative and did not provide medical care there.
Italy's Council of State has upheld the refusal of permission for a betting outlet and video lottery terminals at premises less than 400 metres from an outpatient clinic. The court rejected an appeal by the company seeking the permits from Verona police.
The premises are in Verona province, where the company sought licences under Article 88 of the TULPS for the betting outlet and the installation and use of the terminals. Police refused the permits following an adverse opinion from the Verona Est union of municipalities, citing the distance to the clinic, which is authorised to practise occupational medicine.
Veneto's regional law 38/2019 prohibits gambling and betting halls and the placement of gambling machines less than 400 metres from designated sensitive locations, measured by the shortest walking route. Those locations include hospitals and outpatient, residential and semi-residential health or social care facilities.
The company argued that the clinic was mainly administrative, with medical services provided predominantly at client companies rather than at the premises. The judges said outpatient health facilities were covered by the regional law regardless of the services provided or how their activities were organised.