The Lazio TAR Administrative Court sided with foreign operators against ADM Customs and Monopolies Agency, Italy’s gambling regulator, over expiring operational licenses. 

Betway, Sportpesa, Nexigames and Snaitech filed separate appeals when they were ordered to cease operations because their licenses were due to expire at the end of October. ADM issued a notice to the providers to “comply and turn-off their online gambling services.” The operators received no assurances they would be able to apply for extensions.

Reportedly, Italy’s Senate twice refused to review the extensions. The decision not to extend the current licenses was connected to the upcoming review in Autumn 2022 when the Senate is set to reform the gaming market. In total, the situation affected close to 30 operators. 

After reviewing the appeals, the TAR court ordered ADM to effective immediately grant a one-year extension to each operator, ensuring they will stay operational until October 2021. According to the court ruling, the government had no right to deny the request for an extension, regardless of the future plans to review the gaming market. Additionally, the TAR advised the government to include clear conditions for online gambling concessions in the next Budget Law that will be signed at the end of December.