This opinion turns out to be particularly interesting in the light of the fact that very shortly the bid will be the launched for the management of the SuperEnalotto, and it remains to be seen whether a “mono- concessionary” model is preferable, whereby the management is entrusted to a single licence holder, to that of a “multi-concessionary” model whereby a number of licence holders are responsible for collecting the taxes from the game.

Senate Finance Commission expresses its appreciation for the work of the AAMS

The VI Senate Finance Commission has approved a resolution relating to the Guideline document concerning the development of the fiscal policy, the general lines and the objectives of fiscal management, the financial values and the other conditions under which the activity of the fiscal Agencies is developed for the period 2007-2009.

The Commission gives express appreciation for the strategy adopted by the Amministrazione di Monopoli, which has pursued a decidedly tough stance against the steep rise in illegal gaming and clandestine betting, as well as the emergence into the amusement machine sector, of sums previously embezzled from the players and the State, through the spread of illegal equipment. In particular the proposal from the author, Senator Bonadonna, emphasises that the Commission expresses its appreciation for the consistent increase in tax collections achieved in the public gaming sector during the last three years: it has increased from nearly 15.5 billion euro in 2003 to more than 35 billion euro in 2006. In its approach favouring the modernisation of the public gaming system, the Commission moreover recommends sharing by connecting amusement machines to a network, and, it also believes it is now opportune to consider the hypothesis of transforming the Amministrazione Autonoma di Monopoli di Stato (AAMS) into a specific public agency. The Commission presided over by Senator Giorgio Benvenuto also emphasised the strategic role performed by SOGEI, which is the technological partner of the Financial Administration, in the computerisation of the fiscal system, with the realization of the fiscal registry office: in fact, through numerous and important distributed services, in particular, the Department for fiscal policy, the fiscal Agencies and the AAMS, SOGEI has contributed in basic measure to the modernization and technological development of the Public Administration. The daily paper Il Secolo XIX returns to the scandal of Newslot The state could lose Euros 98 billion from the illegal video-poker machines being played all over Italy. A real “treasure chest” of evaded taxes and fines not collected from the gaming machines. Part of this money could go to the groups operating the video-poker machines, some controlled by the Mafia. The data emerges from an inquiry by Il Secolo XIX di Genoa. The daily paper reports the results of a commission conducted by the Undersecretary of Finance Alfiero Grandi and the Commissioner of the Financial Police Castore Palmerini, presented on March 23 to the Deputy Minister Vincenzo Visco. The inquiry indicates the large sum not collected for the State treasury from the small machines that have not been connected up to the communications network as laid down in the law. The assessments have been made by the Gruppo Antifrodi Tecnologiche(GAT) of the Financial Police. And they raise questions about the work of the AAMS that would have had to check the authorised use of the small machines. Connecting the video-poker equipment to the network would have to conform to the conditions, through SOGEI, in order to verify the value of the bets placed in order to collect the taxes owed.

“For 2006, according to the data from the AAMS – as given in the report from the survey commission, and reported by Il Secolo XIX – faced with a volume of transactions equal to Euros 15.4 billion there would have been a fiscal yield of 2.72 billion with approximately 200 thousand active machines”. According to the Treasury estimate, however, the actual collection from gaming would amount to 43.5 billion with two thirds of the machines not connected to the network (approximately 40 thousand). From the inquiry emerge incongruous details too: the law stipulates that the equipment that is not connected to the network should be locked in a warehouse. According to the investigating committee the AAMS could have backdated authorisations with 28 companies (some of which are being investigated for corruption of the civil employees within the same AAMS). What’s more some of these companies could be controlled by Mafia representatives. Overall in Italy authorised video-poker machines would total about 200 thousand and equally those that are unauthorised and can only be estimated by the State from a sample taken amount to13.5%, the tax evasion, and also the related fines, would during the course of the year amount to a record sum of 98 billion. Also because the AAMS could have accepted lump sums from those holding licences for the games, that are lower than the amounts actually owed.

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