AAMS to establish problem gambling observatory
Observatory will be chaired by deputy director of customs agency and will look at addiction and problem gambling.
Italian regulatory authority L’Amministrazione autonoma dei monopoli di Stato (AAMS) has announced the establishment of an observatory to address concerns over problem gambling.
Chaired by Luigi Magistro, deputy director of the Italian Customs Authority – which was merged with AAMS last December – the body will include representatives from various government ministries as well as government-appointed experts.
Also involved is Giovanni Serpelloni, the scientific head of the Italian Council of Ministers’ anti-drug policies, and he spoke of a need to scientifically address the “disease” of pathological gambling in the absence of clear figures on the extent of the problem.
The establishment of the observatory comes under the auspices of the Balduzzi Decree, the same legislation which brought about the implementation of strict rules on gambling advertising earlier this year.
“The establishment of the observatory…is the first important step [towards providing] a concrete response to the emergence of a phenomenon relevant in the social context of our country,” said Magistro.
“Only by knowing and addressing this problem from a technical and scientific point of view of can we understand its true size, and then fight to prevent it effectively,” he added.
AAMS is the second regulator this year to make a concerted effort to tackle problem gambling, with the Dutch Gambling Authority having invited a number of operators to present on the subject in The Hague in February.
Meanwhile, Malta-licensed operator Mr Green is one of the few operators to have launched its own problem gambling clinic. ‘The Green Clinic’, which was opened in November last year, will take a “very scientific approach” to address the issue of addiction, according to founder Mikael Pawlo.