In the latest move in a saga which has been going on since 2006, the Italian authorities on Thursday said that they have blocked the website of the Malta-based Casinò di Venezia just days after it was promoted in the Italian press.
The total number of sites blocked by the Italian authorities in the latest update of the blacklist which came into force in February 2006, amounts to 1,308.
Under Section 66 of the Italian law in question, the websites of those gaming companies which do not have a licence from the Italian gaming authorities have been blocked.
A year ago, the Casino’ di Venezia introduced live gaming services, through which one can participate first hand in the physical gaming that is taking place at the casino’s roulettes.
However the blocking of the site took only place this week, after an article in the Italian press on March 27, which reported that the Casino’ di Venezia was going to introduce live gaming.
A spokesperson for the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) told MaltaToday that the LGA had already protested with the Italian authorities and the European Commission in this respect as the law in question violated the EU Treaty.
The European Commission has already issued a letter of formal notice, the first step of the infringement proceedings, to the Italian authorities about this case.
However, the effectiveness of the blocking of the sites by the Italian AAMS has been put into doubt, as there are ways of circumventing the blocking of the sites which is taking place in Milan.