June 29, 2024
Good morning,
I read this morning the news of the entry into force of a decree aimed at combating gambling in the municipality of Varese. The law in question limits the practice of gambling, effectively authorizing it only between 9 am and 12 pm, and between 6 pm and 11 pm. Consequently, all the commercial establishments involved (tobacconists, slot parlors and betting points) will have to adapt, limiting your work.
I am part of a family of tobacconists and my family has been working in the gaming sector since 1977; therefore, I can say that I know this field quite well. I am very perplexed and astonished by this law, as legal gaming in Italy is very safe and has always been at the forefront of the fight against gambling addiction and gambling addiction. But what really astounds me is the way in which the mayor of Varese, Davide Galimberti, thinks he can fight this social problem. In fact, limiting gambling in the municipality of Varese alone will not solve the problem at its root. The ordinance states that the law is aimed at protecting the weakest segments of the population, but perhaps he does not realize that by doing so he will achieve only one result: loss of attractiveness of the gaming sector in the municipality, with consequent enrichment of the neighboring municipalities and nearby Switzerland (Mendrisio, Campione, Lugano casinos to name three gaming houses less than an hour from Varese).
Furthermore, there will be a strong economic loss for all those small/medium businesses that have worked with maximum transparency and legality up to now. We remind the reader that the profit that the tobacconist has on lotto, scratch cards, 10elotto is only eight percent of the game played… on which taxes are also paid. Not to mention slots, where the profit is even more limited, as a large part of the game goes into the PREU (single tax levy). In fact, gambling remains one of the largest sources of income for the state, primarily the municipality.
The new law is very reminiscent of the American prohibitionism of the last century, when the administration and sale of alcoholic products was prohibited. Result? Smuggling and illegal trafficking. There is also a risk of this happening in Varese, with the possibility of the spread of illegal gaming and mafia infiltration. As I wrote before, limiting the game does not solve the root problem. In fact, if the objective is to protect the weakest sections of the population, and not to kill a sector and the families who work in it, we need to think of another approach. Since time immemorial, it has been known that the more you limit a practice, the more you will get the opposite effect. The player who cannot play in Varese will not give up betting, but will simply change town. This is clear.
Therefore, I repeat, if the objective is to promote a “healthier” approach to gambling and combat gambling addiction, the solutions could be communication campaigns, creation of posters, targeted advertising, advertisements in newspapers or on social media. Social marketing approaches and expert conferences in schools and sensitive places, increase police and financial police checks in the area. There are many solutions. They would certainly solve the problem more at the root than the new decree can do, which only kills businesses and workers who work there.
Nicholas Ottoboni
Published by VareseNews Editorial Staff
