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Italian authorities closed two unauthorised betting centres during inspections across Agrigento province. The operation also produced administrative fines above €20,000 and a criminal referral involving a Porto Empedocle business.
Good to Know
- ADM and Guardia di Finanza inspected 14 betting shops and gaming halls.
- Officers found two computer terminals outside the national gaming network.
- The checks covered Agrigento, Porto Empedocle and several nearby towns.
Unregistered Terminals Raise Tax Concerns
The main discovery came at a venue in Porto Empedocle, where inspectors seized two terminals without mandatory identification codes or links to the national betting and gaming network.
Licensed equipment sends wagering data through approved systems. Those records allow ADM to track stakes, calculate tax and check whether operators follow consumer protection rules.
The disconnected terminals could operate without registering every play through the required counters. Authorities believe that setup may have allowed the business to avoid PREU, the Italian levy applied to revenue from gaming machines.
Officers referred the business owner to the Agrigento public prosecutor over suspected illegal betting activity. Any criminal liability must still be established in court.
ADM personnel from the Sicily 6 office worked alongside provincial Guardia di Finanza units. The wider operation covered 14 locations in Agrigento, Favara, Raffadali, Palma di Montechiaro, Campobello di Licata, Ribera and the Pelagie Islands.
The action forms part of a broader Italian campaign against unauthorised betting outlets and unregistered gaming equipment. A national operation conducted in April included 797 inspections, 20 illegal betting outlets and fines totalling €5.7 million.
Legal Network Faces Wider Policy Questions
Enforcement in Sicily arrives while lawmakers consider a new charge on regulated football betting.
Senate Bill No. 1902 proposes a 2% levy on stakes placed on Italian football matches through retail and online channels. The plan could raise about €230 million per year for youth football, women football, public facilities and gambling harm prevention. The bill remains at committee stage and can still change before any final vote.
Retail gaming representatives argue that Italy also needs a clearer long-term framework for licensed premises. EGP-FIPE has criticised repeated concession extensions and different local restrictions, saying they limit investment and can direct customers toward online or underground operators.
EGP-FIPE President Emmanuele Cangianelli said: “The evidence is that where the physical offer is rigidly restricted the problem is not reduced, but moved. Play heads online or to the underground market, where control is nil. This makes territorial instruments little effective with respect to the declared objective and introduces heavy distortions in terms of legality and the sustainability of the authorised network.”
ADM and Guardia di Finanza said checks will continue across the province. Their work focuses on tax compliance, protection for minors and vulnerable customers, and prevention of criminal control within gambling activity.
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