Rome, October 2025 — Italy’s Council of State (Consiglio di Stato) has issued a landmark ruling requiring the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) — the national gaming and customs authority — to recalculate concession fees for bingo hall operators, marking a major shift in the country’s gaming regulation framework.
The ruling stems from a long-running legal battle led by attorney Luca Giacobbe on behalf of several bingo operators, who argued that the existing concession fees were disproportionate and unfair. Since 2013, Italy’s bingo concessions have been renewed under a so-called technical extension, which effectively prolonged the contracts for more than a decade without a new tender process.
The Council of State found that this system violated the principles of transparency and economic proportionality. The court instructed ADM to determine new concession fees based not only on actual bingo revenues — excluding ancillary activities such as catering or slot machines — but also on financial losses incurred by operators during the years of involuntary extension.
Legal experts say this decision could create a precedent for other gaming sectors, including VLT and slot operators, where similar technical extensions remain in place. The ruling also pressures ADM to launch a new tender process with clear and economically justified criteria, aligning Italy’s gaming regulation more closely with European Union competition law.
According to Giacobbe, the decision is “a matter of fairness and justice” rather than a waiver of fees. “Operators have continued to pay under uncertain legal conditions for years; the Council has now recognized the need for balance between revenue and sustainability,” he said.
Industry analysts expect this ruling to accelerate the long-delayed structural reform of Italy’s concession model, reshaping how gaming licenses are calculated, distributed, and renewed nationwide.
