Gaming: Adm and Eurispes activate Permanent Table on prevention of criminal infiltration and protection of vulnerable individuals
PRESS RELEASE
Gaming: Adm and Eurispes activate Permanent Table on prevention of criminal infiltration and protection of vulnerable individuals
An Agreement for the prevention and repression of illegal gaming was signed this morning by the Director General of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, Marcello Minenna, and the President of Eurispes, Gian Maria Fara.
Specifically, the agreement is based on the sharing of data for study and analysis purposes, for conducting industry research and for carrying out dissemination and training activities.
Monitoring activities will also be expanded to those contiguous sectors in which criminal conduct such as smuggling of excise goods, illegal trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances, counterfeiting and criminal penetration of the agribusiness supply chain are evident.
For the purposes of the agreement, the Agency and Eurispes intend to set up a Permanent Table, also open to third-party institutional subjects, for the observation and analysis of criminal phenomena, paying particular attention to the public gaming sector in order to identify any infiltration of common and/or organized crime, to find solutions to fight illegal gaming and to prepare remedies for a more effective protection of those involved with a focus on minors and the weakest and most vulnerable segments of the population.
«The Agency – declares Adm Director Marcello Minenna – exercises, among others, the function of regulation and control of the gaming sector in Italy, carrying out a constant activity of assessment and verification, including inspections, on the gaming sector for the purpose of an incisive contrast to any phenomenon of illegality, with the main aim of ensuring a legal and responsible gaming environment. In this context, the Agency coordinates its activities through the High Vigilance Committee for the repression of illegal gaming and the safety of minors, in which the State Police, the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza participate, and has signed a special Convention with the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate proceeding with actions to combat crimes and offenses in general and specifically in the field of public gaming, paying particular attention to cases related to associative hypotheses or those related to international money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The agreement with Eurispes and the creation of a permanent table open to the exchange of information and knowledge between different realities represent a further, fundamental step in preventing and combating criminal activities».
«Eurispes – emphasized President Gian Maria Fara – has tackled the analysis of the public gaming sector several times over the years, producing through the Permanent Observatory on Games, Legality and Pathologies numerous researches aimed at greater knowledge of the phenomenon with particular attention to aspects related to the social pathologies connected to it. Eurispes provides the experience gained over the years, also thanks to the constant collaboration with law enforcement agencies, on the front of the analysis of criminal phenomena and the penetration of organized crime in the country’s economy. The Agency and Eurispes have an interest in conducting analyses and studies on the basis of their respective databases in order to identify illicit phenomena and areas characterized by a high profile of dangerousness in the gaming and related sectors. The results of the investigations and research will be used for communication and information initiatives aimed at the protection of legal and responsible gaming, with particular regard to the prevention of risks arising from illegal gambling, including through communication and awareness campaigns in schools».
