The ADM has detailed new requirements for checks on gambling systems.

Italy.- The Italian customers and monopolies agency, the ADM, which regulates gambling in the country, has updated its technical rules for verification bodies that check gambling systems. The changes are intended to ensure compliance with new requirements for operators’ IT systems.

The ADM requires operators to undergo checks by an independent verification body, or Organismo di Verifica (ODV) to ensure systems comply with the regulators’ standards and can operate securely, fairly and transparently.

New guidelines stipulate that all gaming systems must be checked for compliance under the March 2024 decree on the reorganisation of gambling in Italy. This includes an evaluation of system architecture and data security as well as disaster recovery and user management protocols.

New rules for gambling system verification in Italy

Under the new guidelines, systems must have a modular design, with each module able to be upgraded independently. The aim here is to make it easier to carry out routine checks and to minimise the impact of system crashes.

For data security purposes, systems should be able to detect attempts to manipulate data and automatically shut down if integrity issues arise. Additionally, gaming data, including transaction logs and user information, must be securely stored and accessible to the ADM for auditing purposes.

Systems must also possess real-time monitoring features to track user activity, transactions, and performance. Verification Bodies must ensure the logs are tamper-proof, inaccessible, and periodically duplicated to prevent data loss during system failures. 

Businesses must also have disaster recovery measures, including continuity plans that make use of real-time data backups in geographically separate locations within the European Economic Area. Data must be backed up every 120 seconds to ensure safekeeping.

As for technical rules for games themselves, only certified random number generators (RNGs) are allowed. These must be tested to ensure they yield random and unpredictable results. Verification Bodies will be responsible for confirming that results are securely generated and remain valid throughout the gaming session.

Meanwhile, gaming systems must log users out after 20 minutes of inactivity, with players to have the option to customise the timeout duration. The system must restore the prior game state on a player’s return, ensuring continuity and fairness.

ODVs must document all aspects of the verification process, including test results, system integrity checks, and compliance confirmations. More details are available on the ADM’s portal.

CJEU interventions in Italian gaming challenges

In other news, a challenge to Italy’s ban on gambling ads will go to the European Union Court of Justice (CJEU) after the country’s highest court, the Council of State decided to defer a ruling on the matter.

LeoVegas launched an appeal after the Italian media and communications watchdog AGCOM hit it with a €50,000 fine over ads for its Italian subsidiary Winga.it’s slots offerings broadcast on the TV channel Sky 237 in 2019.

The CJEU recently concluded that the extension of Italian bingo licences must be reviewed, taking the side of Italian bingo operators and ruling that the extensions failed to respect European Union principles regarding fairness and equal treatment in business contracts.

Operators had complained that the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), which regulates gambling in Italy, gave extensions to existing bingo concessions without a competitive tender. The ADM must now draw up a new framework with criteria and technical conditions that provide for equal treatment of competitors.