- Status
- Judgment entered (judgment)
- As of
- 24 Jun 2004 · read from the court record
- Court
- Corte costituzionale · Supreme or high court
- Docket
- Sentenza n. 185/2004
- Judge
- President Gustavo Zagrebelsky, redattore Carlo Mezzanotte
- Filed
- 23 Sep 2002
- Type
- Constitutional challenge, licensing and administrative court cases
- Money
- No settlement fund or award on record
- Payout
- No payout exists as of 14 Nov 2026
Status words follow the court record: a complaint states one side's allegations, only the court's orders decide anything. Filing a settlement claim is always free.
What this case is about
Decided 21 June 2004, deposited 24 June 2004. The Court declared the whole regional law establishing casinos in Friuli-Venezia Giulia unconstitutional: gambling is a matter of public order reserved to the State, and only the four historic casinos (Venice, Sanremo, Campione, Saint-Vincent) rest on special state laws. Still the reason Italy has no new land-based casinos.
What this case is about
Corte costituzionale, sentenza n. 185/2004 is the Italian Constitutional Court judgment that declared a Friuli-Venezia Giulia regional law on casinos unconstitutional. The Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri (the President of the Council of Ministers) challenged regional law 17/2002 in ricorso n. 59/2002, deposited on 23 September 2002. The region was the defendant.
The question was whether a region may authorise casinos (case da gioco) on its own territory. The case belongs to the Licensing and Administrative Court Cases category, which also covers constitutional challenges to gambling laws.
Who is covered
The ruling binds the Region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, whose casino law fell in full. Its reasoning is not limited to that region. The Court treated gambling as a matter of public order reserved to the State.
No player or class is a party. The ruling affects anyone who wants to open a land-based casino in Italy, because only the four historic casinos (Venice, Sanremo, Campione and Saint-Vincent) rest on special state laws. Gambling Lawsuits in Italy lists the other Italian cases.
Is there a payout?
No payout exists in this case. It is a dispute between the national government and a region over who may legislate on casinos, and the record shows no fund, fine, damages or settlement.
There is no claim to file. GamblingLawsuits.org is not a law firm and not a claims administrator.
What the court decided
The Corte costituzionale decided the case on 21 June 2004 and deposited the judgment on 24 June 2004. The hearing (udienza) took place on 23 March 2004. President Gustavo Zagrebelsky presided and Carlo Mezzanotte wrote the judgment as redattore.
The Court declared the whole of regional law 17/2002 unconstitutional. Its reason is that gambling is a matter of public order reserved to the State, so a region cannot create casinos by its own law.
As of 14 November 2026 the status is judgment. The record shows a decided case and no later step.
Why it matters
The judgment remains the reason Italy has no new land-based casinos. It fixed the line between State and regions: the four historic casinos exist under special state laws, and regional casino laws do not.
The Court returned to the State and regions divide in a later judgment on the autonomous province of Bolzano, listed under related cases below.
Questions people ask
Can an Italian region open its own casino?
Not under this judgment. The Corte costituzionale held that gambling is a matter of public order reserved to the State, and it struck down the whole Friuli-Venezia Giulia casino law. Only the four historic casinos rest on special state laws.
Which casinos does Italy have?
The judgment names four historic casinos: Venice, Sanremo, Campione and Saint-Vincent. Each rests on a special state law. The Court did not find a basis for adding regional casinos.
Who brought the case and who lost?
The Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri brought it against the Region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The State won: the Court declared the entire regional law unconstitutional on 21 June 2004.
Related cases
- Corte costituzionale, sentenza n. 300/2011 (Bolzano, legge provinciale 13/2010 on legal gaming): the Court again decides a State challenge to a local gambling law.
Who is involved
Plaintiffs: Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri
| Defendants | Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia |
|---|---|
| Judge | President Gustavo Zagrebelsky, redattore Carlo Mezzanotte |
| Claims |
|
Is there a payout?
No payout exists in this case as of 14 Nov 2026.
What happens next
No future date is on the record we hold. The case is closed on the record we hold; later appeals or enforcement steps would be added here.
Timeline
2 dated steps on record, oldest first. Future dates come from court notices and can move.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 23 Sep 2002 | Filed |
| 24 Jun 2004 | Judgment entered |
Documents and sources
1 primary source (court file, administrator notice, regulator) and 0 secondary. Press is supporting evidence only.
- Docket: cortecostituzionale.it
- Court document: giurcost.org
| What it supports | Source | Type | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|---|
| judgment 185/2004 decided 21 June 2004, deposited 24 June 2004, dispositivo; SECONDARY MIRROR: sentenza 185/2004, udienza 23 March 2004, deliberated 21 June and deposited 24 June 2004, Zagrebelsky/Mezzanotte, ricorso n. 59/2002 deposited 23 September 2002, whole L.R. Friuli-Venezia Giulia 17/2002 (case da gioco) declared unconstitutional | giurcost.org | primary | 14 Nov 2026 |
Related cases
1 case in the record share parties, claims or a settlement with this one.
| Case | Court | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Corte costituzionale 300/2011 (Bolzano gaming law) | Corte costituzionale | Judgment entered |
Last checked against the sources on 14 Nov 2026. Found an error? Tell us and we correct the record with a dated note.