ADM Eases AWP Maintenance Rules as Ageing Machine Base Grows
2026-08-07
Source: Global Gaming Insider
Italy's ADM has simplified AWP maintenance by allowing operators to send only the game board to manufacturers, while the machine remains off-site at the venue. The change reflects an ageing machine base and follows concession extensions, with penalty warnings and a new complaints portal also announced.
Italy's Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) has introduced a streamlined maintenance route for amusement-with-prizes (AWP) machines, allowing operators to ship just the game board to the manufacturer when the component needs replacement or extraordinary repairs. The established maintenance procedures remain available as an alternative.
Under the new process, the machine's cabinet can stay on the venue floor, provided it is turned off and disconnected from both the electricity supply and the data network. A notice must be displayed making it clear the machine is under maintenance and cannot be played.
Operators also need to send transport documentation with the game board, ensure communications with the telematic network concessionaire create an audit trail of the work, and forward the device's technical specification sheet and maintenance logbook to the manufacturer.
ADM cited wear on the installed machine base as a key reason for the change, particularly after legal extensions pushed back the expiry of AWP and VLT telematic network concessions. The concessions were first awarded in 2013 for nine years, and successive extensions moved the end date to 31 December 2026 under Italy's 2025 Budget Law.
Those extensions came with a price: concessionaires owe €120 for each AWP authorisation held at the end of 2023. Parliamentary records show 250,673 active authorisations at that time, which translates to roughly €30.1m in extension fees spread across 2025 and 2026.
Despite softer turnover, the physical machine segment still makes a substantial contribution to gambling tax revenue. Italy saw between 220,000 and 230,000 AWPs in operation during 2025, with stakes falling to €14.9bn from €15.9bn the year before and from €22.9bn in 2019. Associated tax receipts reached €3.6bn.
ADM warned that maintenance carried out outside the approved procedure remains subject to penalties under Article 110 of the TULPS.
The move lands in the same week as a separate ADM initiative: a central online gambling complaints portal goes live on 10 September, and operators will have 72 working hours to respond to player complaints and regulatory referrals.