Sicily regional court annuls police refusal of betting and VLT permits
Regulation2 min read
The Sicily Regional Administrative Court annulled a police decision refusing betting and VLT permits for a venue 30 metres from a residential home for self-sufficient older people. It ruled that the home could not automatically be treated as a sensitive site under Sicily’s 2020 law and said the municipality, not the police, was responsible for checking distance requirements.
Sicily’s regional administrative court annulled a police refusal to grant a betting licence and VLT machine authorisation to a company whose venue was near a residential home for older people. The court ruled that a home for self-sufficient older people could not automatically be treated as a gathering centre for older people and therefore a sensitive site under gambling distance rules.
The venue stood 30 metres from a residential home for older people. Police had considered the home a sensitive site under Sicilian regional law, which sets a 300-metre minimum distance in municipalities with fewer than 50mila residents. The annulled police decision was issued on 29 July 2026.
Police had treated the home as equivalent to health and hospital facilities and to gathering centres for older people. The judges rejected that interpretation, noting that the municipality had not adopted rules identifying sensitive sites beyond those listed in regional law. They said restrictions on where gambling businesses may operate must be interpreted narrowly and cannot be extended by analogy.
Documents established that the private home served self-sufficient older people, had no health accreditation or agreements with the regional health service, and was not classified as a residential care facility or contracted health facility. The judges therefore found it could not be classed as a health or hospital facility. They said gathering centres for older people were daytime facilities for recreational and social activities, distinct from facilities used exclusively for residential purposes.
The court upheld the company’s challenge concerning responsibility for distance checks. Regional law assigns municipalities, through local police, responsibility for checking minimum distances from sensitive sites. Municipal police had found no sensitive sites within 300 metres of the venue, and the municipality subsequently confirmed it had no objection to the authorisations. The court said state police could not take over checks within the local authority’s remit.