Existing machinery, approval and value of the prizes: these are the issues of the technical rules for amusement sent to the EU under the lens of the operators, who are asking for further discussions.
"We are satisfied with the partial acceptance of our requests, but we would have expected a greater sharing of the proposals we presented last year, when there was the first discussion with the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, in the open hearing on Amusement and new technical rules. Although we appreciated that consultation phase, we would have liked a second round of consultations. Now we will discuss with our technicians to understand the consequences and we will decide on the next information, logistical and operational actions for our associates, distributors, producers and managers".
Alessandro Lama, president of the Federazione Amusement Confesercenti, higlights it
after sending to the European Commission the draft of technical rules for production, import and verification of amusement machines without cash prizes, pursuant to art 110 paragraph 7 of the Royal Decree of 18 June 1931, n. 773 and subsequent amendments (Tulps), for the usual quarterly stand still, which marks the beginning of a new era for amusement machines without cash winning, expected for 10 years. "Some of the most obvious points have been collected; others, probably also due to the intersection with some legal texts that could not be regulated by a technical decree, have not been modified according to our wishes", Lama continues. The clearest question concerns the fate of the existing machines. What will happen to them? A Gordian knot, according to Lama, given that the decree "refers to the machines that will be placed on the market after the decree comes into force". The president of the Federazione Amusement Confesercenti points out that "the battle is being fought on other fields. At present, our halls are still closed despite the heavy investments in safety and without knowing anything about our future, so a regulation is welcome, a technical decree with 10 years of delay is welcome, but we would like a greater commitment to block operators who ruin the market, by making clearly illegal offers, against the rules of amusement and common sense", Lama reminds. Another point "excluded" by the new decree is the "lack of distinction in terms of homologation between machines such as table football and more complex ones; there is not even a reference to any tests on the market before carrying out a sustainability testing, there is no control of the prices of the approvals, there is no dedicated national price list, there are many small details that were not followed. It is wrong to burden our sector with ancillary costs and limitations, given that we turn to families: a sector that should be a driving force for the gaming world will be killed with these rules. Well, I think that after 10 years of waiting maybe it would have been better to broaden the discussion a little more, to make a little more effort at a time when the market is at a standstill and there was no urgency. We could have taken the opportunity to do a different job, we deserved more attention". However, for Lama, the text is a good result of the consultation with the other associations represnting the sector, starting with Sapar Service, led by Paolo Dalla Pria. "In general, I see good opportunities in this decree. Of course, we will have to see how it will be at the end of the stand still, then it will be possible to make a more concrete speech, but the rules that are inside cover a bit of everything. For example, it gives us, one day, the possibility of working in the halls with online gaming, of making contracts with big groups such as Bandai Namco, to name one. There are no precise rules on the existing machinery, but I believe an amnesty will be made. In general, I don't see it badly, better than the other times, in three months we will face the technical table again".
Vanni Ferro, president of New Asgi Association, also expressed substantial satisfaction with the new rules. "Finally, a sector that has been in a regulatory limbo for years putting us in extreme difficulty in case of controls is being regulated. In fact, some types of games were not yet regulated and we didn't known whether or not they could operate. We are satisfied with the acceptance of some observations, such as those made on cranes and bulldozers, the possibility that there are objects related to the bulldozer but not prizes, with the introduction of regulatory changes dictated by the entry on the market of new types of games. We are not for other reasons, starting with doubts about the existing machinery: we don't know what we should do with them, in the light of investments of hundreds of thousands euros, given that the text only deals with games that will be built from now on", Ferro reminds, as already done by his colleagues in the sector. "We have told this point to the Monopolies, but to date we haven't received any response on this. Furthermore, we are also worried about the value of the prizes, blocked in 2005; a small adjustment had to be made, it is inconceivable today to find quality products with figures up to €20. It would have been fairer to review it and bring the limit to €40-50. Another issue is the homologation of all games: it becomes a problem to find the company code, it is only an Italian problem, it doesn't exist abroad, you can do self-certification. We were hoping for a different vision also for paragraph 7c; at the time, homologations were born because the machines could not become slots, today it is impossible for this to happen, this type of fear no longer exists. It would have been fine to add a light homologation, as proposed last year for some kind of machines", the president of New Asgi says, who doesn't hide some concern for the immediate and long-term future." It is increasingly difficult to work in this market, with the looming crisis, and this decree won't help us. It was important to give us the opportunity to make our observations on the drafts sent at the time, but another discussion would have been necessary, to give reasons for our observations, to understand the difficulties of operating and implementing what was requested. I don't know how the market will react, we are evaluating it and trying to understand how to operate: above all, there is great concern for the fate of the existing machinery, we should have time to reach a provisional approval or an authorization for 5 years, to give time to dampen the investments made".
Mauro Zaccaria, president of Consorzio Fee (Family Entertainment Expo), thinks the same: "At the time, Adm called us to give our contribution to the decree, and we expressed our doubts about the first draft. In this, someone was welcomed and some not, we hope that after the end of the stand still in the European Commission some small adjustments can be made. There is no doubt that this decree completes the regulation of the sector, and further bureaucratises it. There is some sign of evolution, such as the inclusion of online gaming: we are the last country in the world to do so, but at least a step forward has been made. Not everything is lost, we have to wait for the evaluations of the other states, hoping that they will take our point of view into account. There is no doubt that this decree completes the regulation of the sector, and further bureaucratises it. There is some sign of evolution, such as the inclusion of online gaming: we are the last country in the world to do that, but at least a step forward has been made. It would be important if this were accompanied by at least some stability in the sector, to avoid having to submit to regional and municipal limits to amusement in the future, such as the ban of using ticket redemptions for minors under 18, decided by Emilia Romagna. In any case, we carry out our ideas, we continue to point out the existing critical issues and we try to make the Adm understand why, we hope they will listen to us".