Italian regulatory authorities have sent their new law on internet gaming to the EU for approval before it comes into force, and while the details indicate a slight softening of the expected rules, the timescale of the consultation means the new licenses will not be active in time for the Euro 2008 football championship this summer.

Recent comments by EU Internal Markets tsar Charlie McCreevy, which seemed more intent on attacking the Italian government licensing policies than criticising the activities of Stanley International, have sparked a renewed war of words between the main trade association representing Italian licensed operators and the Liverpool bookmaker.

Italy's Ministry of Economy and Finance will award the country's new Superenalotto lottery licence by the beginning of December, with their way cleared by yesterday’s ruling from an administrative court in Rome that challenges to the controversial bidding process had no validity.

On the eve of another major European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision, the legal status of the unauthorised betting outlets that provoked the Gambelli and Placanica ECJ cases is continuing to haunt the Italian authorities.

A new high court decision in Italy will make it harder for the authorities to balance the wants of its new licensees with the needs of its legacy operators.

In 2009, gaming companies operating in Italy collected €53bn in bets. Italy has recently adopted regulations allowing the introduction of VLT machines, cash internet poker, new scratchcard lotteries and online casino games.

Liverpool-based bookmaker StanleyBet international scored a victory in the Placanica case but new license holders are keen to bury the past and move on.

Italy’s dedicated police force, the Guardia di Finanza, on whose shoulders falls the responsibility for carrying out various measures, including the impounding of over 100,000 AWPs and the closure of hundreds of illegal betting shops, have chronicled their recent achievements in a public presentation that appears to confirm their tough stance against unlicensed operators.

Two years have now passed since the historic decision by the Italian government to begin blocking websites controlled by “unauthorised operators.” The Italian regulator AAMS believes results have vindicated its controversial decision while blocking has since been adopted by many other European jurisdictions.

Tipp24 looks to have managed the trick of replacing its German-facing lottery business – which has been destroyed by the full impact of the German State Treaty on gaming – with a booming international business. But the company has said the German government will not find it so easy to replace the billions in potential tax revenues it would have gained if Tipp24 and other private operators had been allowed to continue lottery retail operations.