SBC News ADM settles Italy’s betting rules on bonus management & palpable errors

ADM settles Italy’s betting rules on bonus management & palpable errors

ADM, Italy’s Custom and Monopolies Agency has confirmed that from 1 June, new rules will be applied on bookmakers’ bonus management and palpable errors.

The update sees the Agency settle rules on two long-standing areas of dispute between Italian bookmakers and their customers that have existed since the market’s regulated launch in 2006.

Rules will be upheld via a specific decree related to Bonus Management, outlining the ADM’s legislative criteria on the practical use of bonuses, terms and conditions, forms of payment, and how bonuses can be applied for ‘one-off’ tax.

Current rules see a ‘bonus limitation’ applied to Italian bookmakers, who are prohibited from rewarding more than a €100 bonus per customer on a fixed-odds wager.

However, operators had indicated the need for a defined methodology to calculate the cost of these bonus rewards for tax and auditing purposes.

Stakeholders were informed that the ADM had settled on the tax calculation that “both the bonus used and any stake placed by the player will be included in the calculation of the amounts wagered and winnings paid.”

Italian bookmakers have long called for the ADM to settle legal boundaries on palpable errors, as many customer disputes have had to be settled by law courts. The ADM deems its upcoming decree as a resolution to end further consumer litigation with licensed bookmakers.

Furthermore, the ADM introduced a regulated process for addressing palpable errors, which for the first time allows for systematic correction without resorting to legal action.

Bookmakers must submit a correction request via an application system, providing details on the operator and the challenged odds. If approved, the odds will be recalculated based on the “market average, as determined through the national tote.”

The ADM’s resolutions on bonus management and palpable errors run independently of the Italian government’s ongoing ‘reorganisation of Italian Gambling’.

Latest developments on the reorganisation of gambling saw the government set a new framework for online concessions, introducing €7 million licences for a nine-year term, a significant increase from the previous €200,000 fee. 

The Ministry of Finance (MEF) endorsed this fee to reflect changes in the market dominated by Plc operators such as SNAI, Lottomatica, and Flutter Entertainment. The new structure aims to resolve long-standing legal disputes on licensing and aims to reduce the number of operators active in the market.

Further reforms see MEF continue to negotiate with Italy’s 20 regional governments and 100 municipalities on the terms of implementing federal reforms related to land-based gambling venues.

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