Italian government set to bring in new esports legislation
The new legislation will establish a new esports federation in the country
The Italian government has confirmed it is in the process of regulating esports after it seized equipment across multiple venues.
The Agency of Custom and Monopolies (ADM) made a sweep of esports venues across the country in April, seizing equipment and closing three venues as part of the raids.
The ADM is responsible for overseeing gambling across the 20 provinces of Italy. The agency said that the venues “lacked any form of authorisation, licence and concession’.
Existing laws in Italy have classified local area network (LAN) equipment under the same bracket as gambling, slot and arcade machines.
A LAN is a collection of devices that are all connected together in one location for the purpose of a gaming tournament or competing as part of a team.
The ADM said: “It is quite clear that the purpose of the checks carried out last weekend was to ascertain compliance with the regulations currently in force, with the aim of protecting their own operators in the market of LAN rooms that make gaming equipment available legally and responsibly.”
Since these raids, the Italian government has stated that it is in the process of introducing legislation, which will involve the setting up of an esports federation.
The government will work in tandem with the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) to set up this federation.
Federico Freni, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said: “The Government is considering, in concert with the CONI, the establishment of a federation that oversees the organisation of competitive sports gaming.
“The government wants to specify, given the extraordinary importance of the sector, that all evaluations are underway for the most appropriate regulatory initiatives to ensure effective and stable regulation of the sector in a reasonable time, recognising an autonomous relevance of the devices without winning money.”
The minister added: “The government reserves the right to evaluate the appropriateness of all the initiatives undertaken so far.”
The Italian Federation for Electronic Disciplines has welcomed the news from the government. The federation has said that recognising esports will help support and develop the sector further.