Italy strengthens crack-down on ticket redemption to minors

The Emilia-Romagna region of Italy has intensified its rules banning ticket redemption to minors. The Health Policies Committee has approved the new rules.

As per the law, the operators must display posters proclaiming the prohibition of ticket redemption for minors. A notice must also be displayed on each device that their use is forbidden to those under the age of 18.

Furthermore, managers must verify the age of the client, except in cases where the age is clear. If they are underage, they must not sell them tokens or give them prizes derived from winnings. Violation of these rules will result in fines.

“Prevention starts with the youngest: with these provisions we further strengthen our commitment to opposing and reducing the risk of gambling addiction, starting from the most vulnerable, weakest people. And, since we are dealing with minors, our strongest hope is that parents do their part and are our allies too,” said regional councillors Sergio Venturi (health policies) and Andrea Corsini (tourism and trade).

“We are facing a phenomenon that affects all ages in a transversal way, and that we continue to fight: both from a health point of view, with investments of over €7.4m for treatment, and prevention of addictions allocated by the 2018 – 2019 fund for pathological gambling, both with incentives to businesses joining the ‘slot free ER’ brand. And in this regard, in 2018 we doubled the contributions, which went to €300,000, allowing us to approve 30 projects from Piacenza to Rimini.”