Corte costituzionale 108/2017 (regional distance rules for gaming halls): Allegations, Court Orders and Status

What this case is about

Corte costituzionale, sentenza n. 108/2017 (ECLI:IT:COST:2017:108), is a constitutional ruling of Italy's Constitutional Court on a regional gaming law. It arose in a case between Gilupi srl and another gaming hall operator and the Comune di Melendugno before the TAR Puglia in Lecce.

It is a constitutional challenge of the kind collected under Licensing and Administrative Court Cases. On 22 July 2015 the TAR referred the question to the Constitutional Court.

It concerned art. 7 of Puglia regional law 43/2013, which sets a minimum distance of 500 meters (about 1,640 feet) between gaming halls and sensitive places. The question was whether such a rule invades the State's exclusive competence on public order under art. 117(2)(h) and (3) of the Constitution.

Who is covered

The ruling covers operators of gaming halls and machine locations in Italian regions that fix distances from sensitive places, such as schools, churches and hospitals.

The parties in the main case were the operators, the Comune di Melendugno and the Regione Puglia, and the Constitutional Court acted on a referral from the TAR rather than on a petition from the operators themselves.

President Giorgio Lattanzi presided, and Franco Modugno wrote the decision. For other Italian decisions, see Gambling Lawsuits in Italy.

Is there a payout?

No payout exists in this case. It is a constitutional review of a regional law, and the record shows no fund, damages or claim process.

Operators lost the argument that the rule was invalid, and the record shows a fund of zero EUR and no damages. Players had no claim to bring, and no administrator or claim site exists for this case.

What the court decided

The Court heard the case on 22 March 2017 and deposited its decision on 11 May 2017. It held the constitutional questions unfounded.

Regions may fix minimum distances between gaming halls and sensitive places as a public-health measure against pathological gambling. The Court followed the line opened by judgment 300/2011 on the Bolzano law, so the Puglia rule survived the challenge that it invaded the State's competence on public order.

The status is judgment, as of 14 November 2026. No later step in this case appears in the record.

Why it matters

The ruling is the constitutional basis of the Italian "distanziometri", the distance rules that closed thousands of slot locations. For the other cases in this group, see the hub page Licensing and Administrative Court Cases: Operators Against Regulators and States.

Related cases

• Corte costituzionale, sentenza n. 27/2019 (Laura Accardo v Comune di Lanciano): the later ruling on art. 2 of Abruzzo regional law 40/2013.
• Corte costituzionale, sentenza n. 300/2011 (Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri v Provincia autonoma di Bolzano): the 2011 ruling on the Bolzano provincial law on legal gaming.

Questions people ask

What did sentenza 108/2017 decide?

The Constitutional Court held on 22 March 2017, with the decision deposited on 11 May 2017, that the questions on Puglia's distance rule were unfounded. Regions may set minimum distances as a public-health measure.

What are the "distanziometri"?

They are rules that set a minimum distance between gaming halls or machines and sensitive places such as schools, churches and hospitals. Judgment 108/2017 is their constitutional basis.

Does the ruling give players or operators any money?

No. It is a constitutional review of a regional law, and the record shows no fund or claim process.