Gioco d'azzardo online: prospettive di diritto comparato

The steadily growing gambling sector, and its expansion in recent years into new environments and virtual media lead to abnormal situations that are difficult to classify, both from a legislative point of view because their characteristics make it so that their very classification and consequent regulation are not direct and simple processes, especially from a social-psychological point of view because of the major increase in the number of players – especially online, and especially from those who should not play such games – therefore with strong increases in addictions and harmful behaviour, both in numbers and in forms. This growth has gone hand in hand with that of the video-game industry, which has long since reported having a number of highly criticized mechanics of a gambling-like nature. In the European context, it is determined that these mechanics are effectively games of chance and thus should be treated as such, yet effective regularization has often been criticized as fragmented and unsuitable, both from the European Union and its members. Through an analysis of Comparative Law, this thesis aims to bring a current study of the development of gambling over the years to observe how it has evolved to new technological environments and new forms that directly influence other gaming sectors. This comparison finds its foundations in Behavioral Law theories, explaining the motivations and influenced factors from a number of European cases and realities, current and not, to define how the regulation of gambling has been increasingly – and gradually throughout the ending of the 20th century – influenced by the field of psychology and social motivations in order to protect the individual himself from addiction. The results of this comparison of various studies of law, economic, legislative and jurisdictional realities, and developments in the medical field lead to observe a recent change in the European and even international landscape, of a tending reinforcement of increasingly drastic measures to limit new forms of gambling, which by their very nature are difficult to contain and control.