"To move slot machines in order to set them aside in secluded rooms is the best way to encourage a gaming addiction." This is the claim of Marilena Ratto, president of the National Traders Association/Commerce Federation in Varazze, near Savona, in answer to an outline law proposed in the last few days by Anit (the Italian National Association for the increase of tourism), aiming to remove gaming machines from bars.

She adds: "For many shops away from the centre of a city, slot machines are an attraction and encourage potential customers to walk in. The premises have shop windows and everybody, not just the players, can see what is going on inside."

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We continue to receive letters to the Editor with complaints from coin-op machine operators, angry on account of serious problems in the operation of second generation newslots.

We had already mentioned complaints received from machine owners who claimed that their automatic machines had been tampered with: "the machine hoppers are being emptied!" they were screaming with great alarm.

At the time it seemed that the problem had been solved after reassuring statements issued by the major newslot manufacturers and distributors; even the story of manuals sold on E-bay on how to defraud slot machines had been archived among the sector myths and legends.

 Today the problem is more serious, as many operators claim that the dealers are no longer able to read the second generation newslots. It seems that over 80% of operational machines are blocked, and are unworkable in shops round the country. Operators emphasise that the problem does not end there: "Our image is at risk, and once again we, the owners of the machines, are blamed by the public for the malfunctioning of the machines. Who can safeguard our image? Our fault was to accept the business proposals offered by Government".

 In the meantime various solutions are being suggested by those who are trying to solve the problem rationally and there is a growing propensity for the old game of "buck passing".

 "It is all the fault of SOGEI (the Information and Communication Technology Company of the Economy and Finance Ministry) not reading the machines";  " it is the fault of the telephone carrier who creates the problems"; "no, it is the fault of smart cards not working";  "it is the fault of unsuitable Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) owned by the dealers or of the Data Processing Centre software system not being ready for the second generation slot machines"; "no, unfortunately the root causes of the problem are the wrong protocols, and we need to change everything".

 We are close to a complete standstill; is there a need to withdraw all machines?

 We do not know the up-to-date situation precisely, and we hope that some clarification will soon be issued by AAMS.

 In the meantime some people are being driven mad, the call centres of some coin-op companies are in a mess, many people are rushing back from their holidays and in those businesses that are open to the public the usual sharks are waiting to snap up unhappy barmen with new contracts.

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