News

Wednesday, 17 August 2011 01:15

A recent budget brought in by Italy's government made provision for 200 online casinos that will operate in the country to ease the country's debt.

Italy may make up less than one percent of the world population, but they account for almost 23 percent of the global gambling market. With land-based online casinos producing a staggering €62bn in 2010 and a similar figure expected this year, there is scope for diverting some of that to the online stage from which taxes can be taken and used to help pay of some of the country's crippling debts.

Almost half of all gambling is done on slot machines in bars, cafes, shops and just about anywhere a "macchinette mangiasoldi" or "money eating machine" can be installed. People play them constantly and seem oblivious to the amount of money they feed into these machines, of which there are 380,000 currently in use.

The Italian government believe it can turn this vast movement of money into an asset in helping them deal with a debt that has grown to 120 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The provision to license 200 online casinos will put the machinery in place to divert a big chunk of the funds that are disappearing into money eating machines and funnel them into the tax coffers via online casinos that can be played in the relative comfort of people's homes and anywhere there is cell phone coverage via mobile phone apps.

Not surprisingly, this move has angered civil society groups and consumer associations who are already deluged with the vast problem of the country's huge number of gambling addicts. According to father Alberto d'Urso, the catholic priest who is also the Consulta Nazionale Antiusura's secretary general, an organisation that battles against gambling and usury, the sheer size of this unfortunate phenomenon ought to be sufficient to give all those involved pause to contemplate their actions. Because there are few jobs and money is scarce, people are trying their luck with whatever they can find. D'Urso berates the government’s plans to expand the industry as completely “irresponsible” during this time of economic crisis.

Despite stiff opposition from such groups, the government is quick to point out that even before they made these proposals, there was no shortage of outlets for Italians to satisfy their love of gambling. Apart from their money eating machines, there are three weekly lotteries, four licensed casinos, bingo halls, scratch cards on sale in stores, cafes and post offices along with betting parlours where just about anything can be wagered on. They don't believe including the online platform will cause any more problem gambling than there already is.