Italy’s Court of Cassation rejected a convicted man’s appeal concerning an online betting case, although it called the 17-year delay in serving the appeal judgment unjustified. The court found the appeal too general to establish that the conduct was of particularly minor seriousness, according to the report.
The ruling leaves the conviction’s consequences in place despite the court’s criticism of the notification delay.
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Italy's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a suspect against a Lecce review court order that kept him in custody in a case involving mafia association, attempted extortion, usury and drug trafficking. The review court had found he handled illegal betting for a Sacra Corona Unita faction and made the "Free Time" bar available for meetings, and the Supreme Court upheld the mafia-aggravation finding and the custody requirements.
Italy’s Court of Cassation upheld the conviction of a gaming-machine management company’s legal representative for embezzlement over sums not passed to the concessionaire under the extraordinary levy introduced in 2015. The court rejected the defence’s argument that the unpaid amounts concerned only private contractual relations, stating that gaming receipts retained their public character from collection.
Italy's Court of Cassation upheld a conviction for embezzlement over sums not passed to the concessionaire under the extraordinary levy introduced by the 2015 Stability Law, according to the court's ruling. The Sixth Criminal Section issued judgment 36931/2026 on 22 September 2026, confirming the conviction of the legal representative of a gaming-machine management company. The ruling was reported on 26 October 2026.
Italy’s Court of Cassation annulled without remand a conviction for damaging a gaming venue’s entrance, finding that an employee’s active, continuous watch meant the property was not exposed to public faith. The court said that without the aggravating factor, the conduct did not constitute a criminal offence, according to the report.
Italy’s Court of Cassation confirmed that data transmission centres can be jointly liable with foreign bookmakers for Italy’s single betting tax, even when betting takes place outside the licensing system. It rejected challenges concerning EU law, territorial scope and translation of tax notices, but ordered a new examination of the 2015 tax calculation.
Italy’s Court of Cassation issued six rulings on VAT for lawful gaming machines, finding that the forfait regime linked to the entertainment tax does not prevent taxpayers from choosing standard VAT. The court said that choice may be evidenced by conduct even if the relevant VAT return section was left blank; lower tax courts must assess the records for each tax year.