I-Com, Schettino (AGIC): “Illegal market increasingly aggressive. Speed up the reorganization and keep the 80 million in the Budget intact.”

“We are not operating within the closure of a perfect perimeter.” The external variable, he said, is “the aggressiveness of the illegal market, driven by technological evolution,” which is “increasingly penetrating the legal market.” This is what Gennaro Schettino, president of AGIC, underlined during the I-Com conference.

AGIC has estimated that the dot-com phenomenon amounts to roughly 300 million in lost revenue—an element that must be considered when comparing the different verticals of the sector.

Hence the need, according to Schettino, to speed up the reorganization of the sector: “We need to move faster and, since we have a well-regulated market, accelerate the consolidation that can provide certainty and a future perspective for the industry.” At the same time, he recalled that the Customs and Monopolies Agency “had already examined and slightly increased the sanctions package,” but today “we are facing a step change brought about by technology.”

“Beware of misleading numbers on tenders”

Schettino then urged caution when assessing expectations regarding tenders and land-based gaming: “I would be careful not to throw out random numbers,” he said, referring to “the difficulties of the sector, the presence of an increasingly aggressive illegal competitor, and the need for structural reform.”

He recalled that ADM had studied several measures that “will naturally lead to major investments—significant investments in product innovation, consumer protection, and therefore in a standard of quality that society requires.” Responsibility towards consumers, he stressed, “is the factor that guides everything.”

Schettino also warned of a concrete risk: that “the cost of the tenders might ultimately push the legal market out of the market,” producing effects contrary to those intended.

Budget Law: “The 80 million must reach the end of the parliamentary process”

In closing, the AGIC president expressed a hope regarding the Budget Law: “We hope that the 80 million will reach the end of the process safe and intact.” He recalled that the parliamentary process is not over: “We are still in the Budget Committee; the plenary votes have not yet begun.” Schettino expressed the hope that “in the first half of the year we can have the reorganization and the start of a new phase, also for land-based gaming.”