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The end of the year has been a stressful period for the Italian gaming sector during the recent years, but this year seems a good one.
During the last years, entities operating in the Italian gaming market as well as investors had a very hard time in the last months of the year because of continuous proposals aimed at introducing restrictions or higher taxes for the sector.
What happened last year?
The news of last year were eventually good, with
- a slightly higher taxation for VLTs which was offset by the removal of the € 500 million tax;
- the introduction of rules for the award of betting shop and online gaming licenses;
- the launch of a GGR tax regime for sports betting as well as online poker tournament and daily fantasy sports, and, with effect from 1 January 2017, online bingo;
- the setting of new gambling advertising rules which represented a valid compromise, if compared with the initial proposal of a total ban of gambling advertising and
- a new settlement procedure for CTDs.
No news for the Italian gaming market this year?
The Italian Government has outlined the main contents of the upcoming Budget Law and no reference is made to the gaming sector which had been traditionally used as the “cash dispenser” of the Government during the last years.
It is likely that the expected entries from the sector will derive from
- the proceeds of the tenders for betting shops and online gaming licenses whose payment is expected in 2017. The meeting between the Government and the Municipalities on the restrictions to the time and location of gaming/betting locations is expected to take place on 27 October 2016. Once such issue is sorted, the tender should be eventually launched; and
- the missing € 160 million of the “famous” € 500 million tax prescribed in 2015. However, this move is unlikely given that the € 500 million tax of 2015 is now being reviewed by the Constitutional Court.
The matter shall be closely monitored, but the scenario seems better that the last year.
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