An Italian court has rejected network provider Microgame’s challenge of the Italian government’s cash games decree. Microgame had filed its challenge after Italian authorities submitted a different decree than the one they had originally sent to the European Commission, but the Administrative Court of Lazio Region ruled that Italian regulator AAMS had sufficiently resolved the alleged differences. With this impediment out of the way, the country is expected to publish the text of the decree in the Official Gazette, and the new gaming scheme will subsequently be considered law.
Microgame, which controls 25-30% of the country’s poker market, took exception to the decree’s call for specific certifications of games and platforms would result in significant costs (up to €100k) being levied on each operator. Microgame’s network consists of some 120 operators of various sizes, whereas their next largest competitor Playtech has only four operators under its umbrella. In Microgame’s eyes, their small fry are being unfairly hit with costs many of them can’t afford to bear, but the company is not expected to launch a fresh court challenge on these same grounds.
