For the first time, Italy is promoting legislative reform in its online betting sector. The Italian government’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) proposed the legislation, known as the Reorganization Decree.
The now approved decree hopes to protect people vulnerable to gambling, such as minors, promote warning messages and introduce self-limitation of gambling platforms.
New online betting campaigns
Thus, Italy will now enact a new licensing reform framework with the hope of generating funds to carry out responsible gambling campaigns.
In this way, operators in Italy, known as ‘dealers’, will be taxed with a 3% tax for operating gaming services. Applications for online betting licenses will now have an authorization fee of 7 million euros.
Sector unions in the country criticized the increase in value, a change from the current rate.
Alphabet Inc’s YouTube and popular streaming platform Twitch have been fined by Italian lawmakers. In December, the channel violated terms of the 2019 Dignity Decree, which prohibits advertising gambling games.
Italy is getting serious about gaming reform, fining YouTube €2.25 million and Twitch €900,000. However, it is not the only country to resort to stricter laws for the gaming market.
Problems also in Australia
The Australian Media and Communications Agency (AMCA) found that some of the main betting sites in Australia violated industry rules.
So, this prompted the parties responsible for the violation to review their operating rules to avoid a severe penalty.
Thus, in December 2023, the Australian Federal Parliament approved a measure prohibiting the use of credit cards to fund online betting accounts.
Residents of regional New South Wales have lost an estimated $4.3 billion to poker machines, forcing the government to act immediately.
Thus, a panel of 16 industry experts will generate a report for the Australian government. Therefore, the study will take into account 4,500 poker machines in 24 regions of the country.
