Il legal game it represents the most solid barrier to the development of the illegal one, in the hands of crime. 83,6% of Italians believe that the State must regulate and manage legal gaming to protect the individual and the community, 81,7% that it is always the State's task to raise awareness and inform about the risks of gambling addiction but according to 59,8% limiting legal gaming would increase the number of illegal players, with clear advantages for crime. The pandemic has demonstrated this with the related restrictive measures, when the turnover of illegal gambling it grew by 50% in just one year, going from an estimated 12 billion in 2019 to 18 billion in 2020, risking exceeding 20 billion. These are the main results of the Lottomatica-Censis report on legal gaming in Italy, presented at the Palazzo della Minerva of the Senate.
According to the report, the legal gaming industry generates benefits in terms of employment, income, added value, tax revenue which finances public spending. There are 300 concessionaires authorized by the State, 3200 management companies which, on behalf of the concessionaires, deal with the coordination of public gaming in the area, 80 thousand points of sale, 150 thousand direct and indirect employees in the sector. In the direct supply chain, legal gaming is made up of 8271 companies, with approximately 40 employees and an annual turnover of 14 billion euros.
The report seeks to highlight and underline the social and economic value of legal gambling often identified with its pathological nature and reduced to a mere "uncontrollable impulse". About, William Angelozzi, Chief Executive Officer Lottomatica declared "The goal is to grow the sector in a safe and sustainable manner and to analyze it, leaving aside prejudices".
“No to prohibition, yes to the conscious freedom of people”. For Italians, the State cannot opt out, it must establish rules and raise citizens' awareness on the subject, informing the community of any risks, but the sovereignty of decision-making processes must remain in the hands of individuals, recognizing the primacy of individual autonomy.
Legal game: the role of the concessionaire
The management of the port is not carried out directly by the State, but is entrusted in concession to another entity, usually a private entrepreneurial group. So, The dealer is a key figure in the system and even more than its ability to curb illegal gambling. “Rules and transparency are important criteria in the sector precisely because they mark the difference between legal and illegal gaming”.
According to the report, the concessionaire "implements the rules of the state" and "transforms them from written words into concrete practice. Concessionaires must guarantee the company's aims: a complex operation that can only be carried out by groups with a basic solidity and entrepreneurial culture adequate to the dual function they are called upon to perform”. “It is also important that the concessionaire is an interpreter of the rules that effectively block the way for crime,” the report concludes.
Returning to the data, if on the one hand the game is seen in a negative sense, such as an addiction, on the other it emerges that greater restrictions and prohibition would increase illegality. For 66,8% (71,3% in graduates and 73,4% in high incomes) legal gaming is the real barrier against the illegal one managed by crime. And the closures during the pandemic of legal gaming have proved it. At the same time, according to 28,9% of Italians, banning the game would reduce the number of players, with positive effects for public health and the community.
Legal gambling: pandemic effect
This sector too suffered the effects of the pandemic. In 2020, total funding was 88,4 billion euros, of which 75,4 billion returned to players in the form of winnings (85,3%). Therefore, the expenditure incurred is equal to 13 billion euros, distributed between the tax authorities (about 7 billion euros) and corporate revenues (about 6 billion euros). Compared to 2019, total funding marks -22,2 billion euros (-20%), winnings -15,7 billion euros (-17,2% real), the treasury -4,1 billion (-36,3, 2,3% real), the revenues of companies in the sector -28,9 billion euros (-XNUMX% real).
In 2020, the increase in online gaming due to the lockdown only partially compensated for the collapse of physical network gaming: online revenues amounted to 49,2 billion euros, approximately +12,8 billion euros compared to 2019 (+35,3%), while gaming on the physical network it stopped at 39,1 billion euros (-35 billion euros compared to 2019, -47,2%).
The numbers of illegal gambling in the hands of organized crime have increased exponentially. In 2019 the value of illegal gambling was estimated at around 12 billion euros to rise to 18 billion (+50%) in one year. In 2021 it risks exceeding 20 billion euros. Further signs of the growth of illegal gaming - Agimeg reported - come from law enforcement operations: between the beginning of 2020 and April 2021, an illegal room was discovered every 3 days, 145 investigations were conducted by the police , 1000 people reported against 493 in 2019.
Nel is convinced Paula Severino, professor of criminal law at the Luiss Guido Carli University: “Good money drives out bad money. Legal gaming allows you to have fun and entertain yourself in a safe way. Furthermore, legal gaming stems from illegal gaming and, as in the pandemic, if the regulated area is restricted, the one without licenses will take up space".
